Sie nannten ihn Stick (1985)

Sie nannten ihn Stick: Directed by Burt Reynolds. With Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, George Segal, Charles Durning. Released from prison, Stick meets up with a friend and joins him on a job delivering a bag. His friend gets killed in the setup. Stick gets away and is ready to forget all and see his daughter, but they won’t forget.

“Veteran star Burt Reynolds directed himself for the fourth time in this okay adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel. Itu0026#39;s definitely minor league in terms of the Leonard adaptations out there, but it entertains adequately. Burt is cast as Ernest u0026quot;Sticku0026quot; Stickley, an ex-con who hooks up with old friend Rainy (Jose Perez) and accompanies him on a drug deal gone sour. Stick then becomes determined to exact some revenge on behalf of Rainy, taking on creeps like the dorky Chucky (Charles Durning) and the more genuinely menacing Nestor (Castulo Guerra).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLeonard is credited as one of the screenwriters, but wasnu0026#39;t overly pleased with the final results, since Universal ended up removing a fair bit of his trademark humour and replacing it with action scenes – to make it more u0026quot;commercially viableu0026quot;. The result is a basically watchable movie that increases in interest and entertainment value as it goes along, and the characters become more engaging. Along the way, we get many lovely shots of Florida locales, and an upbeat score by Barry DeVorzon and Joseph Conlan. The film offers some sex appeal and violence, but shouldnu0026#39;t be too ugly for some viewers to take.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBurt is kind of going through the motions here, even as Stick reconnects with his young daughter (Tricia Leigh Fisher, younger half-sister of Carrie Fisher) and attempts to romance beautiful financial advisor Kyle (Candice Bergen, who does look great). George Segal is fatally annoying as motor mouthed rich dude Barry, a guy who likes to hobnob with the criminal element. Richard Lawson is good as one of Segalsu0026#39; employees. Durningsu0026#39; performance is likewise good, but he looks so ridiculous with that wig, the false eyebrows, and that wardrobe that itu0026#39;s hard to take him seriously. Guerra offers the standout performance as the true villain of the piece.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the real reason to watch u0026quot;Sticku0026quot; is to see the late, legendary stuntman Dar Robinson in an extended acting role, as a psychotic, albino henchman named Moke. Heu0026#39;s a lot of fun to watch, and his final scene is memorable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Leonard purist might not be too fond of how this turned out, but itu0026#39;s reasonably enjoyable for Reynolds fans.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSix out of 10.”