Ivan Reitman
Pericolosamente insieme

It’s understandable that, at the age of 15 as was the case for me, one might have a favorite actor or actress. For me, the name Robert Redford was a guarantee, a reason to head to the cinema to see any film that featured him among the cast. Then, of course, as years go by, one’s cinematic tastes may broaden, though without forgetting the idols of one’s youth.

The recent news of Redford’s passing came suddenly, and I find myself rewatching all or almost all of the films he starred in. I also caught up with “Legal Eagles,” which I’d missed at the time and, to be honest, it didn’t strike me as one of his best (certainly not as disappointing as “Indecent Proposal,” a film with at least an honest title). Here, I’ll outline the key points of the (convoluted) plot and what didn’t quite work for me.

The director Ivan Reitman (the same behind the much more convincing “Ghostbusters”) follows the adventures of District Attorney Tom Logan (Robert Redford, of course), who together with attorney Laura Kelly (Debra Winger, quite good in the role) has to defend a certain Chelsea Deardon (played by a rather lackluster Darryl Hannah). She’s wrongly accused of the murder of a shady art dealer who is involved in the trade of paintings by an artist (Chelsea Deardon’s father) believed lost in a fire eighteen years earlier—the fire in which he lost his life.

I won’t spoil the rest of the plot, which unfolds hastily towards an obligatory happy ending. I’d note that Reitman puts too much on his plate, mixing different genres like thriller, romantic comedy, action, drama, and courtroom twists. But the overall impression is that he just hints at various directions without much conviction. While the witty banter between Redford and Winger is spot-on (evoking a certain classic American cinema where names like Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, and Cary Grant shone), the rest feels rather shaky. I already mentioned Darryl Hannah in the role of the charming blonde Deardon (certainly beautiful, but not exactly at the pinnacle of her acting), but it’s especially painful to watch the grizzled Terence Stamp (as the stiff art dealer who is later murdered) acting so apathetically he could pass for a just-thawed stockfish. Even worse are some parts of the story, such as the arson at the art gallery belonging to the aforementioned dealer, from which the three protagonists Logan, Kelly, and Deardon enigmatically emerge unscathed.

Overall, at least the much-missed Redford manages to keep the whole thing afloat; even here, he proves to be a solid actor. It remains true, though, that his unmissable films as an actor are quite different and well known. And let’s not forget that he also excelled as a director (one title above all: “Ordinary People”), as well as founding the Sundance Film Festival, a cradle for young talents like Jarmusch (just to mention one among many). In short, Robert has left us a fine cinematic legacy.