Madigan's Million / The Wedding Party
Madigan's Million
Directed by: Giorgio Gentili (a.k.a. Stanley Prager)
1967
Released by: Troma
The Wedding Party
Directed by: Brian De Palma
1969
Released by: Troma
"Madigan's Million" (released by Troma as "Madigan's Millions") was the first feature film of soon-to-be Hollywood big shot Dustin Hoffman. The film follows Hoffman's character Jason Fister as a bumbling detective trying desperately to recover, yep, you guessed it, Madigan's Million. The movie is chock full of cut-rate slapstick comedy that'll have you reaching for the nearest "Pink Panther" romp. It's interesting that director Gentili also worked with Italian splatter-mogul Lucio Fulci on "Lizard In A Woman's Skin."
Secondly, we have "The Wedding Party." This fairly forgettable piece was directed by Brian De Palma ("Phantom of the Paradise," "Carrie," "Scarface") and co-starred future tinsel-town powerhouse Robert De Niro. De Niro's character Cecil is one of two friends attempting to talk their third friend out of the dreaded union of marriage. All very predictable and all so tame. Gene Shalit of NBC-TV calls this one, "one of the most charming, most frothy and inventive pictures in a long time." A suspect statement for sure as the film was shot in 1963 and not released until 1969.
Admittedly I am no huge fan of either film nor their film's stars. In any event both Hoffman and De Niro have each made at least one film that should get a day in court. For me Hoffman's crowning jewel was, and always will be, the ultra-violent Sam Peckinpah 1971 feature "Straw Dogs." If audiences in 1967 were less than impressed with Hoffman's screen debut in "Madigan's Million" then they were sure to get more than their money's worth out of this seminal film. De Niro, over the years has faired better in my opinion than Hoffman, and his tour-de-force would have to be Martin Scorcese's 1976 scorcher "Taxi Driver." Here again an A-list actor redeems himself with an unforgettable performance that has successfully permeated the American psyche.
So, what's the point in all of this? Well, De Niro and Hoffman both rose above their earlier works to become the faces of fortune that they are today. They started out in lowly films, but had higher hopes, dreams and aspirations. They became two of the most identifiable mugs in the world. Now that they've scratched and clawed their ways to the top they can do what they have apparently always wanted to do "Meet The Parents" and its woeful new sequel "Meet The Fockers." Yuck!
Both of these DVD's were released by Troma and have their weight's worth in extras including; Trailers, documentaries, interviews and the side-splitting introductions by Troma's founder Lloyd Kaufman.
By: Christopher Curry
Posted by MK Magazine