(Note: when traveling in Cozumel, watch out for splashing bodily fluids…)
CAST: Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, James Woods, Alex Karras, Richard Widmark, Jane Greer, Swoosie Kurtz, Dorian Harewood, Saul Rubinek.
DIRECTOR: Taylor Hackford
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and strong arguments for having a hot affair in Cozumel - right now…
Our next American Imperiled Overseas Flick is actually half of one. See, half of the film takes place in the exceedingly lovely island of Cozumel, while the other is in, well, Los Angeles. Which is about as exotic as a box of Ho-Hos. But that half that takes place in Cozumel? WOW!
In our review time for CAIRO TIME (review # 107), we discussed just how tricky chemistry it is to get right. In AGAINST ALL ODDS, the chemistry between leads Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward isn’t so much right, as it is pre-ordained. You know a couple has electricity when you can’t wait for them to rip each other’s clothes off and have some sweaty, extremely vigorous sex.
Our story starts in Cozumel, that jewel of the Mayan Riviera, as stud-muffin tourist Terry Brogan (Jeff Bridges) wanders the streets with a picture of a chick who… looks at lot like me before the ol’ testosterone kicked in and thankfully made me a lot less androgynous. Anyhow, Terry goes from person to person, asking them: “Has visto a esta mujer?”
If you’re thinking he’s asking them where the best whorehouse in town is, you’re in for a disappointment. But still kind of in the same ballpark. What Terry is asking these folks is “Have you seen this woman?”
Hmmmmm…. The plot thickens. What could our handsome blonde hunk be doing in sunny Cozumel showing people a picture of a chick who looked like me before my balls dropped? What does he want from her? And will he settle for me?
Well, the answer to the last one is “Are you fucking kidding me?” But to get the answers to the first two questions, we must rewind a little and flash back to equally sunny (but a lot more populated) Los Angeles. There, we discover that Terry is actually a pro-football player with the Los Angeles Outlaws. Unfortunately, he’s also one of those players with a potentially debilitating injury: a bum shoulder. Which even a cretin like me who knows more about how African fruit flies mate than American football, knows is a problem.
Before you can say “Pretty Boy Has A Problem,” the owner of the Outlaws - one Mrs. Wyler (Jane Greer) - and her cronies cut Terry from the team. Faced with the prospect of watching soaps on his couch all day, Terry consults with his attorney Kersch (Saul Rubinek). Sadly, Kersch turns out to be just less of a slimeball than a wad of phlegm and turns his back on our hot ex-football player.
Fortunately (well, maybe unfortunately), Terry’s old friend Jake Weiss (James Woods) comes a-sniffin’ around with the job offer for the linebacker stud. Seems Jake’s girlfriend Jesse Wyler (Rachel Ward) got into a fight with him, stabbed him in the leg (more like groin area, really), grabbed $50,000 from the safe, and vamoosed it for parts unknown. How does this concern Terry? Glad you asked. Easy: Jake wants Terry to find the bitch.
Which Jake eventually does. Turns out Jesse’s been drawing from her trust fund, and her mother, Mrs. Wyler (remember her? owner of the Los Angeles Outlaws? small world, eh?) reveals to Terry that the money’s been going to a bank in the Caribbean island of Cozumel. Guess its hard to hide if you’re filthy rich.
So, loyal Sarcasto-philes, this brings us full circle (sort of) to our opening scene of Terry hassling tourists and locals on Cozumel while flashing a picture of an adolescent pre-testosterone Sarcasto, er, Jesse. He pretty much strikes out repeatedly. If Jesse is on this island, she must be spending most of her time under a rock.
Things look up one day when Terry looks up to see a tall, willowy brunette with legs up to there buying some mangos from a vendor. His athlete’s intuition kicking in, he practically dashes over and call out Jesse’s name. Involuntarily, she turns and, well, let’s just say that the movie gets a lot more interesting. A lot more.
See, Terry Brogan and Jesse Wyler pretty much have the chemistry-equivalent of winning the Super-5 Lotto. In other words, siiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzlllllllleeeeee… All you pretty much want to do is get these two into bed - and fast. But even watching them spar and bicker is equally hot. That’s when you know a couple has got it going on - the foreplay is just as wild and crazy as the sex.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that Terry and Jesse not only fall into the sack - hard - but they also fall in love - even harder. As you can imagine, this proves a problem for our hot hero and his even hotter new gal. Does he stick to his plan and tell Jake he found Jesse, or does he take her and go on the run? What happens when Jake sends another thug to Cozumel to find out what the hell the hold up is? Will Terry and Jesse’s affair be revealed? And what happens when Terry and Jesse accidentally kill the thug? Will Jesse stand by her man? Or will she run back to Jake and prove that she can’t be trusted? Is there a hotter couple in the world than Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward?
I’m thinking, no. They pretty much take the cake.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: The tagline for AGAINST ALL ODDS is "Sometimes love is the most dangerous game of all", and it’s a fitting (and very true) one. A loose remake of the classic film noir OUT OF THE PAST (1947), AGAINST ALL ODDS succeeds on its own right based on the sheer combustible chemistry of its two leads. Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward are easily in the list of Top Five Hottest Screen Couples. It also helps, though, that the characters they play are smartly written and are a nice pair themselves.
Terry Brogan is a little cynical, not good at politics, wears his heart on his sleeve, and calls things as they are. Jesse Wyler is cool, calculating, much more adept at the manipulation than Terry is, who is actually fairly simple underneath. It’s Jesse who’s the complicated one. The emotional core of the film is not so much Terry falling in love with Jesse, but Jesse unexpectedly falling for him - and rethinking who she is as a consequence. Her act of sacrifice at the end of the film is the crowning moment of her character arc, and the final shot of her weeping, yet also showing rays of hope, is absolutely unforgettable.
As good as these characters are written, though, they could have easily been fumbled by the wrong performers. Fortunately, lightning struck inside a bottle when Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward were cast. Bridges perfectly embodies a man who has a rough-edged sense of honor and integrity, but is waylaid by his own heart. The biggest hurdle he has to navigate is whether or not to trust Jesse. Bridges effectively conveys the vulnerability under Terry’s forceful personality, as well as the sense that his Achilles heel is basically his heart. Indeed, when Jesse complains at one point that she wishes she could be loved by someone without it being “life or death” in magnitude, Terry turns to her and says: “Most people are afraid they’re never going to be loved like that.” And it say so much about him…
As far as Rachel Ward, to put it simply, she is amazing. When you just can’t see someone else playing a role, the actor has nailed the role with force and precision. Just like with Sharon Stone’s star-making turn as the femme fatale in BASIC INSTINCT (review # 83), Rachel Ward plays Jesse Wyler with such skill that she becomes an endlessly fascinating character. As conceived, Jesse Wyler is more than just your average femme fatale. All of Jesse’s cunning can be attributed to human roots. This is a woman who lost the only person she could trust (her brother, to suicide) and has been treated like a possession by her wealthy mother all her life.
The result is someone who, despite being seductive and sexually-adventurous, is only comfortable in a relationship when the other person is kept at an arm’s length, emotionally. The best scenes are of Jesse slowly letting her guard down to let Terry in, and revealing her true affection for him. Such as the scene when they are in bed, and Terry has just finished telling her a tale about a fateful game he played in. Jesse gazes adoringly at Terry, then wistfully says to him the words that I firmly believe is what finally cements his love for her: “You know what I wish? I wish I would’ve seen you play football. You must have been wonderful.”
Terry's reply: "I can see how Jake would go crazy without you..." If that's not a sign that you've fallen for someone, I don't know what it is...
By the end of the film, when Jesse makes that great act of sacrifice just so Terry will be okay, we know we are dealing with a changed woman. And watch the ending credits with Jesse’s face showing a whole array of emotions, while Phil Collins’ soulful title song plays on the soundtrack - and tell me that Rachel Ward isn’t one of the most beautiful women in the world.
As the third point of the triangle, James Woods is suitably sleek and menacing. Positioned as some sort of dark prince to Terry’s sun-god, Jake Weiss shares his pal’s jaded outlook and penchant for wild partying. Unfortunately, where Terry has sincerity and wonder under his cynical exterior, Jake has calculation and more cynicism. In some regards, this makes Jake a seemingly ideal match for the equally-manipulative Jesse.
In reality, though, Jesse is closer in nature to Terry in that she has the capacity to change for someone she loves. With Jake, he wants to possess whatever he loves - not change for it. But what makes Jake as interesting as Terry and Jesse is the hidden fragility he has under that slick exterior. Woods ably shows us all these hidden levels to Jake, making him the third point of one of the best love triangles in cinema.
The rest of the supporting cast performs well. Richard Widmark, Dorian Harewood, and Alex Karras are vivid and nuanced as the figures in Terry’s football universe, while Swoosie Kurtz and Jane Greer are memorable as the other two major female characters: a hard-drinking secretary who ends up helping Terry late in the film; and Jesse’s supremely manipulative mother who obviously passes on her tendencies to her daughter. Also, Jane Greer played the heroine in OUT OF THE PAST, so her role here is an interesting twist.
In the end, AGAINST ALL ODDS is an effectively moody and unforgettably sexy thriller that succeeds as a modern film noir. And its due largely to the compelling love triangle at its core, and the explosive chemistry between its lead stars.
In closing, I present to you the video for the song “Against All Odds,” which was composed for this movie. There's also a second video of the film's ending (don't watch if you don't want it to be spoiled). It shows Jesse's final act of sacrifice to keep Terry safe and okay... Tell me that isn't love. Then tell me this isn’t the loveliest song…
