A 1990 comedy directed by Roger Donaldson that has a car salesman's (Robin Williams) life in turmoil when a crazed motorcyclist (Tim Robbins) takes him hostage.
The movie also stars Pamela Reed, Fran Drescher, Annabella Sciorra, Zack Norman, Lori Petty, and Paul Guilfoyle.
It was released on May 18, 1990.
Tropes for the film:
- Ate His Gun: Larry (Robbins) threatens to kill himself this way, but Joey (Williams) talks him out of it.
- Establishing Character Moment: Joey tries to sell a car to a widow after the funeral for her husband is over, showing the lengths he'll go to in order to make a sale.
- Everyone Has Standards: Larry may have taken a whole dealership hostage, and is insanely jealous of his girlfriend Donna (which is what led him to take the dealership hostage in the first place), but when a hostage tries to bribe Larry to let him go, Larry refuses because he doesn't extort people.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The movie starts out following Joey , a sleazy, two-timing used-car salesman with a quickly expiring Karma Houdini Warranty, dealing with the prospect of losing his job, having his girlfriends find out about each other, and a rebellious teenage daughter running away. Just as these combined issues begin to overwhelm Joey, the story takes a dramatic left turn when Larry shows up, and turns into a hostage crisis, with Joey as one of the hostages.
- Honest John's Dealership: The car dealership Joey works for, where all the salesmen are just as driven and sleazy as he is. Of course, Joey never anticipates he'd have to sell Larry on letting go the hostages he's taken.
- Hunting "Accident": Larry assures himself that his old friend Carmine will look out for him if he is threatened by other mobsters. Upon asking Carmine's whereabouts he is answered with these two words.
- Immigrant Patriotism: An immigrant couple have made good in America protest the very idea of buying a non-American car. (It was 1990).
- Lima Syndrome: This is most of the plot. A car salesman played by Robin Williams gets caught into a hostage situation and uses his knowledge of how people work to get Larry to calm down and empathize with the hostages, including and especially himself.
- My Card: Joey gives his card out to a number of people in the first half of the movie, including a widow at her funeral, as well as the hearse driver whose car has broken down. Later, when the hearse driver gets taken hostage and he's let go, he leaves his card at the dealership and offers his services.
- Short-Range Long-Range Weapon: Averted where Larry takes Joey prisoner in a hostage stand-off. Joey complains about the rifle being shoved into his neck: "It's a gun, Larry. Bullets come out of the end."
