source--Hollywood Online
Nobody in 1985 could figure out why director Hal Ashby, of Harold and Maude and Foul Play fame, would have gotten involved with a haphazard project like 8 Million Ways to Die. We could answer "It's the money, silly", but why belabor the obvious? Jeff Bridges plays an LA sheriff who loses his job due to his inability to stay away from booze. While attending an AA meeting, Bridges is invited to attend a party, where he meets the beauteous Alexandra Paul. Also at the party is an old enemy of Bridges', druggie Randy Brooks. It doesn't take long for Bridges to figure out that Brooks is a pimp and Alexandra is one of his hookers. She begs Bridges to help her break away from Brooks. Not long afterward, Alexandra is killed, and Bridges crawls back into the bottle. Eventually sobering up, he vows to avenge Alexandra's death. Much blood is spilled before the killer is revealed (it isn't who you think); along the way, Bridges gets a new lease on life when he falls in love with ex-hooker Patricia Arquette. An enormous flop, 8 Million Ways to Die is redeemed by Jeff Bridges' powerful performance. One hopes that the orignal Lawrence Block novel wasn't quite as confusing as the film.
My comment:
The movie itself is not very good, I think. I don't like the story at all, but Andy is so cute and his performance is great. Instead of feeling relief and happy seeing a bad guy in a movie is killed, I feel sorry and hate the cop when he was killed by the cop. This is his breakthrough movie and is worth to check out for an Andy Garcia fan.