But, if you can take it as goofy fun evocative of its time, it’s a memorable little lost nineties gem. I’ll be the first to admit – this isn’t a great film. Johnson is back in the limelight, making this the opportune moment to revisit Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. As for Johnson, he beat the comeback trail with the great Cold in July and contributed memorable roles to films like Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Alex of Venice, along with Knives Out and HBO’s Watchmen. While Rourke’s never-ending series of DTV movies have marred his rep somewhat, he also did The Wrestler and proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s still got it where it counts. You’d get the occasional Bruce Willis or Denzel Washington, but for the most part, the jump just wasn’t made – which is a shame as Johnson made some good flicks in the era, including Dead Bang and the crazy underrated The Hot Spot.įlash-forward to 2019 and both stars are icons in their way. You were either a TV actor or a film actor. Ditto Don Johnson, who was trying to break out from TV, something you just didn’t do back then. Whether or not his reputation was earned is questionable, but in hindsight, many of his late eighties films hold up well, so perhaps there was something else going on in the minds of critics. At the time, Mickey Rourke was seen as a pain in the ass who squandered his talent and to be sure, the man soon left Hollywood altogether to take up boxing, only to finally make a huge comeback with The Wrestler years later. WHY IT’S GREAT: Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man benefits tremendously from the second wave of popularity both of its leading men got later in their careers. In the end, the film’s box office performance wound up being disastrous, grossing only $7.4 million domestic. It wasn’t helped that the film was marred by Rourke and Johnson publicly bad-mouthing it before it opened. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid this was not. Suffice to say, the movie was met with uniform hostility from critics, with many mocking the product placement in the title, with the leads being named after their favorite brand of motorcycle and cigarette. Thus, the two signed on to do this high profile, big-budget action flick, which I’m sure seemed like a can’t miss proposition at the box office to them both – this being the heyday of R-rated action. Rourke was coming off of a slew of disastrous films, including the much-maligned Wild Orchid and Desperate Hours, while Johnson was still struggling to establish himself as a leading man in the wake of “Miami Vice” finishing its TV run. THE HISTORY: Both Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson were in transition in 1991. I mean the guy so good looking, all he has to do is blink and you can’t take your eyes off him.- Mickey Rourke’s Instagram It would be my pleasure to let anyone know Don Johnson is a very great actor and has been underrated for many years. “I was fortunate enough to work on a film with Don, the only bad part was-the director sucked, but Don knew so much about behind the camera stuff, he used to tell director where to put the camera. THE PLAYERS: Starring: Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, Chelsea Field, Giancarlo Esposito, Tom Sizemore, and Daniel Baldwin. To pull this off, they plan a heist but wind up in possession of a massive load of a popular new street drug called “Crystal Dream.” A biker ( Mickey Rourke) and his cowboy pal ( Don Johnson) team up to save their favorite bar from going under. THE STORY: The year is 1996 – the future. This week we’ll be looking at HARLEY DAVIDSON AND THE MARLBORO MAN! Welcome to The Best Movie You NEVER Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time and/or has aged like a fine wine.
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