The other night I stumbled onto The Long Goodbye and I can now safely say that I just do not like Altman. M*A*S*H is the anomaly, not the rule. What an unpleasant piece of moviemaking.
Elliot Gould plays Trapper John channelling Philip Marlowe, who helps a pal out by driving him from LA to Mexico--yeah, he's that kind of pal. Upon returning home he is arrested for having abetted said friend in the murder of his wife, until the cops learn that the friend went down to Mexico solely to off himself. Case closed.
But Marlowe, of course, knows that something is not right, so he investigates. The story might have been interesting if Altman gave a damn about anything other than romancing his favorite city (LA), but the director shows a near total contempt for the genre and the characters are universally creepy.
The performances are all good enough; only Mark Rydell, aka director, is outstanding as a slimeball Jewish crime lord. Look fast for Ahr-nolt in his underwear.
I did read that there was an opening scene with a cat that I missed. I can't believe it would redeem the whole movie, but give what a waste of time the film was I wish I'd caught it.
