Customer Reviews

Nadine [VHS]

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This review refers to "Nadine"....

Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger will take you on a ride that's a whole lotta fun. The film runs about and hour and a half...and that's about right. Any longer may have been a bit tedious. It may not be the type of film that you will watch over and over, and may be a bit on the predictable side, but with all the fun and the great cast, including Gwen Verdon, Rip Torn, Jerry Stiller, Mickey Jones and Glenne Headly, it's absolutely worth the view.

Austin, Texas mid 1950's. Nadine Hightower(Basinger), beautician, has posed for some pictures, ehem, make that "art studies". The photographer assured her, that he knew Hugh Hefner, and she would certainly, make it to the top. But Nadine has second thoughts, she wants her photos, er, art studies back, and when she goes back to the studio to retrieve them, gets caught up in the middle of a murder scene. She grabs the envelope with her name on it, and high tails it out of there.

Well naturally, she gets the wrong pictures. She has stolen city plans for a new highway development. All she wants is her pictures back. She turns to her almost ex-husband(Bridges), a down on his luck nightclub owner for help. He sees a way to make a bundle in all this..and so the chase is on..although these two may not be the brightest of the bunch, the manage to elude the cops, the bad guys, bullets, and a few rattlers along the way.

Basinger is adorable in her role as the almost ex-wife who can still wrap her hubby around her finger. Bridges is charming and funny. The film has a little something for everbody. Comedy, action, and romance. If your looking for something with a few laughs, not too deep, or just Kim Basinger, you may want to check this one out. Rent it, or check out the low prices on the VHS from the outside sellers here, even with the shipping costs, it'll be worth the view.

Enjoy....Laurie

I guess I'm having a Kim Basinger day today, but in addition to Elvis Has Left the Building, I would like to recommend this 1987 comedy which also showcases Basinger's Georgian accent.

It's 1954 in Austin, Texas, and Nadine Hightower is in a lot of trouble. She's gone to sleazy photographer Raymond Escobar's studio to reclaim some photos from him because they were "lots more artistic than I bargained for." Unfortunately, when she's in the back room retrieving the folder, Escobar is stabbed, and she runs like hell from the scene with an envelope that has her name on it, but inside are the illegally obtained blueprints for a super highway development that ends up in the hands of her estranged husband, Vernon (Jeff Bridges), a handsome, wise-mouthed bum who owns a virtually patron free bar called the Blue Bonnet and that's not the worst of it. He's fooling around with a former baton queen who works for the Lone Star Brewing company (a ditzy blond played humorously well by Glenn Headley), and Nadine, a local beautician, is expecting his baby! All this, and snake handling outlaw Buford Pope (Rip Torn) wants those blueprints back while at the same time, Nadine and Vernon want a divorce. Ain't love grand?

This movie has a great, authentic 50s setup, topnotch acting, and there's undeniable chemistry between Bridges and Basinger. You must be warned that there is a lot of foul language, but if you can overlook it, this movie is fun, full of suspense, and has a sweet romantic thread that weaves it all together. This is a flick both men and women will enjoy because it has something for everyone, and the soundtrack, mostly supplied by sister country duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo, all work to make this movie charming and fun.

It's Austin, Texas, 1954, and Jeff Bridges's biggest ambition is a gaudy neon to top-off his tacky, no-business, beer bar, while estranged wife and apprentice hairdresser Kim Basinger sends her "art photos" to Playboy magazine. Obviously they're made for each other. Meanwhile, her sleazo photographer turns up dead and they're on the run. It's delightful madcap as they bumble their way through a series of misadventures. Their subtly affectionate sniping reminds me of a bad grammar version of Nick and Nora Charles in the uptown Thin Man series. Surprisingly, the California born Bridges has the "good ol' boy" drawl down pat, while even the usually snooty Basinger manages a convincing honky-tonk queen. Good period detail without the distractive sounds of Golden Oldies. -- With a delightfully arch Rip Torn as the slyly superior villian. It's amazing how these little gems keep getting produced with little or no recognition. All in all, great escapist fare for a slow evening at home.

"Nadine" is an example of the quirky choices that distinguishes Jeff Bridges from his peers. It's also an example as to why Bridges is not as big a star as he should be. "Nadine" is not a bad film, far from it. It's just so...slight. It goes down easy like a bottle of Lone Star beer but you've forgotten it an hour after you've digested it. This is really surprising considering not only the talent in front of the camera but also the presence of Academy award winning director Robert Benton behind it. That said, Bridges and Kim Basinger have good screen chemistry that make the film eminently watchable. Good art direction depicting Austin, Texas circa 1954 and cinematography from master lensman Nestor Alemendros. The bottom line is that this is a good film to pass the time as the summer wanes.

Here's a flick about two idiots that get mixed up in a plot to defraud the state of Texas and, instead of winding up in jail, end up better off than when they started.

Set in Texas in the mid-1950s, Kim Basinger is a pregnant hairdresser who happens onto plans to expand a superhighway through certain parts of town. She inadvertantly shares these certain moneymaking secrets with separated but not yet divorced husband Jeff Bridges, in one of his better roles, and ends up in a pickle with humorous bad guy Rip Torn and his idiotic assistants.

Basically, the pair escape the police, bad guys, death, dishonor and everything else in a screwball comedy that will keep you glued to the screen with its action, plot and humor. This is Basinger's best early comedy besides "Blind Date".

Bridges, who excelled in a similar nincompoop role as "The Great Lebowski", is here an idiot of the first order who nonetheless ends up being the hero and outduels the even more idiotic bad guys in something akin to the Keystone Cops vs. Laurel and Hardy.

I really enjoyed the great old cars on display in this film, especially that 1949 or 1950 Ford the pair had at one time. That was the first "fenderless" car in history. Another scene shows a great old 1955 Oldsmobile. There are great 1950s automobiles in almost every scene.

Meanwhile, there a funny screwball comedy going on all the time that you'll enjoy. Look for Bridges great scenes where he is intractably caught by either people or a situation with his exclamation, "I've got the situation under control." It's a great line! So's the movie.

this is a really entertaining romantic comedy from Jeff Bridges and Kim Bassinger,also,Rip Torn and Gwen Verdon,full of nostaligic charm set in Austin Texas in the 1950's, truly worth watching and a great addition(my favorite)for Jeff Bridges fans(that's me)

Jeff Bridges and Kim Bassinger when they were young and full of energy. A very funny, clever movie from these talented actors--and heartwarming at the same time. Well-written, well-acted, well-directed, well-filmed.

MOVIE :
I love this movie. It's a very good 80's comedy, not the best. Jeff Bridges is Vernon, a broke bar owner close to file bankruptcy. But his would-be ex-wife Nadine (Kim Basinger), whose job is about hairdressing, can help. It's a matter of :
1.signing divorce papers,
2.Taking back Nadine's "art studies" photographs,
3.Escaping from a band of awkward bandits looking for other photographs...

You see the plot !

DVD :
This release is pretty good. The picture and the color are neat.

So, if you like Kim and Jeff, you should have this one.

This is a great romantic comedy set in 50's Texas starring Kim Bassinger and Jeff Bridges,it's a must see with plenty of adventure!!

This is the kind of movie that starts out with strikingly real characterizations--Nadine is herself quite a piece of work, Texas country simple but shrewd with a strong will--and an interesting premise, but doesn't maintain the excellence.

Kim Basinger is gorgeous in the title role and natural. Jeff Brides plays her estranged husband Vernon Hightower who owns a bar in Austin, Texas circa 1954 that is not doing much in the way of business. He is one of those guys who dream of making it big financially in business as a proof of his manhood, a guy who has always just gotten by on his good looks, a guy who often lies and cuts corners and can't be trusted, but a guy with a smile to charm a rattlesnake. These two really love each other but are currently in the process of getting divorced and Vernon has a girl friend (Renee, played with eager finesse by Glenne Headly) that he wants to marry, he thinks.

The plot begins with Nadine going to a photographer's studio and demanding to get back some "art studio" shots of her that were taken under the guise of being shown to Hugh Hefner at Playboy. The photographer is murdered and Nadine mistakenly ends up with some photos of the plans for the new Interstate that will be built nearby, plans that Buford Pope (Rip Torn) and his thugs want for themselves because, if you know where the highway will be built you can buy up the property near it on the cheap and then sell it later for a big profit. Vernon knows this too and when he finds the photos in Nadine's purse, he takes off with them.

The questions that the plot will answer are (1) Will Vernon and Nadine escape from Buford Pope and his strongmen with the photos and their lives? and (2) Will Vernon and Nadine realize they really love each other and find true love and happiness together?

There is a shoot-out in a junkyard near the end that's...different, and there's a neat car chase and...well, the movie that started out so well deteriorates into something ordinary, but not all that bad.

Robert Benton, who wrote the script for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and both wrote and directed Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) directed. He has a fine feel for character and can write authentic and witty dialogue. He is not at his best here; nonetheless this is definitely worth seeing mainly because Bridges and Basinger do such a great job of filling up the screen. Basinger in particular is wonderful. See it for her.