Customer Reviews

Rollover

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While I can certainly argue about the cast, the plotline (given its Hollywood source) is plausible and frightening. It isn't about the Saudi's out to destroy the world or greedy bankers. It is a story about what might happen if the U.S. owed a large part of their debt to overseas investors and those investors panicked.

Swap Asians for Arabs and cheap goods for oil and you are all set. Almost half of all U.S. debt is owned by foreign investors now, including many that are not friendly to us. It is in their interest not to dump this debt on the market at the moment but what if bonds or the dollar (or both) started to seriously slide? What if they decided it was "them or us" and weren't going to see their investments implode. Watch the movie and see how an innocent action might trigger such a response.

It is true that only folks with a good understanding of international economics will "get it" and I am surprised such a movie was even released. If you have the background and can put up with the actors, this is quite a fascinating tale.

Much like the film Kristofferson made previously, "Heaven's Gate", this film is not as bad as it's reputation makes it out to be. I will not try to summarize the plot; that has already been done. What I do want to point out is that this movie is filled with solid performances from Kris Kristofferson (as usual) and Jane Fonda. Also appearing is a fine set of supporting players, from Josef Sommer to Hume Cronyn. The technology is dated, but the idea is somewhat timely. What if the Arabs decided to pull their money out of circulation and put it "under the mattress"? There are some tense moments and some 70's era paranoia. (Much like "All the President's Men" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", mistrust of the government is a common thread) This is a movie with flaws, but if you are a Kristofferson fan, you will enjoy yet another intriguing performance. If you are tired of the teen movies that plague the multiplexes weekly, try this out and enjoy an adult drama.

This is, to my knowledge, the only major Hollywood movie ever made to attempt to expose the power of the Arab oil tycoons and what they might do with that power. No such movie would be allowed to be made now, which is a further testiment to that power and to the fact that this power is now being wielded inside the United States and not just from the outside.

So, enjoy the movie. There will never be another one like it. And if you want the facts, read Sleeping with the Devil. Also, Blood and Oil.

This movie is a strange sci fi what if movie
that is so like reality at first
that you think it is like Cash McCall (1960) [DVD].
Instead a darker picture emerges that involves an international
money conspiracy. If you invest in Gold there is no interest
involved except the inflation of the value over time.
Since we just went past a market crash that
might have pulled the whole system down,
this movies is again a fresh prospective on
an oil based economy.

One of the few entries in a genre that could be called "Financial Thriller" is an exciting, thought-provoking film that has more to do with 2008 than with 1981.

Generally panned after its release, "Rollover" is a film of unusual delights. Underneath a rather dense layer of financial jargon (that might be taken apart by some of your more knowledgeable capitalists) lie some intriguing ideas and fine characterization. The basic plot involves an actress-turned-business woman (Fonda) and a highly-skilled financial trouble-shooter (Kristofferson) who align themselves professionally and romantically. The paranoia and distrust central to the film not only infects their relationship but finds a larger manifestation in the precarious relationship between Saudi Oil and the world economy. Sound familiar?

Maybe 1981 found "Rollover" less than convincing. However, today, the realities of how large concentrations of corporate wealth threaten the fragile state of our global economy make this film indistinguishable from our nightly newscasts.

Check it out...

This film is what I'd call a financial thriller. While there are a few other movies that might conceivably belong to this rare genre, it's rare for a good reason: if you're not into the finer points of finance yourself, all the shop talk of markets and trading and financial panics in this kind of movie is likely to put you to sleep. As such, the target audience is rather limited.

As financial thrillers go, however, this one is rather good if you are in that target audience. Possibly in hopes of expanding the target audience a bit, this film also mixes some elements of an erotic thriller and a murder mystery into itself as well, but Fonda and Kristofferson both seem to be phoning in their sexual relationship and neither of their characters ever goes to any significant effort to find the murderer.

The erotic subplot serves mostly only as a metaphor to underline the financial story anyway; in other words, it's saying "Think twice before getting into bed with people--literally *and* figuratively speaking." As for the murder, it likewise serves to emphasize how high the stakes in finance are and how dangerous some of the players can be (providing Kristofferson with ample excuse to swear furiously and make a few idle threats of violence to show off his masculinity). Either subplot could probably have been left out altogether without doing the story any disservice, but the movie's pretty tightly scripted as it is and evidently Hollywood just didn't want to pass up any potential opportunity to expand its target audience.

Another category this movie might fit is the recently much-expanded disaster movie genre. Where most disaster movies attempt to dazzle our eyes with either a nuclear war or a massive natural disaster, however, Rollover provides us with an excellent dramatization of a financial apocalypse. Though much of the build-up to the ending would--again--be too boring and confusing to anyone who doesn't understand finance, the world's descent into chaos at the end is quite visually enthralling and might make an excellent tool for any economics professor to get students to pay attention in his class.

Of course, recent events also enhance this film's reputation for harrowing realism; though the clunky 1980s computers and the Cold War politics in this story do antiquate this film somewhat, the financially informed viewer will feel a strong shock of recognition in some of the situations portrayed and the characters' analyses of them. Cronyn's speech to Kristofferson near the end of the film could have been ripped straight from some of this decade's economic newsletters and TV talk shows.

In short, this film's not being a huge success at the box office is understandable, but it's a good solid effort at introducing the viewer to our economy and its many philosophical benefits and pitfalls.

I recall very well when this movie came out, as well as seeing it on a date while in College. My date sort of liked it, but she did not take it very seriously. Even back then I disliked Hanoi Jane (this was a year or two after she refused to criticize Vietnam, etc. for something even Joan Baez came out against (!), and I had heckled her when she came to campus. Great choice of a speaker Emory!), but I had to admit she was a great actress. Back to the film. Unlike my date, the idea of the movie stuck with me. Apparently, about everyone else in the U.S. thought the movie was totally implausible, and it bombed for several reasons. For instance, it has some goofy scenes that definitely could have been cut, like all of Pakula's films. However, this movie was far ahead of its time.

International Jewish Conspiracy?? Don't think so nutheads. It is the Arabs who control oil, and starting in the 1980's and especially in the 1990's, hiring all the D.C. law firms to "lobby" (i.e., "bribe") for them (including, unfortunately, many Jewish attorneys). Then, NOW, it is our buddies the Chinese who have followed suit. The Chinese started behind the scenes in the 90's (with the Clintons' help), and now, 2009 (almost 2010) hold a huge amount of our debt, sell us a huge amount of "goods", buy almost nothing from us (though, they do smoke a H-ll of a lot of cigarettes), and have been buying up gold, silver, palladium & platinum.

What the Chinese are doing now, is what Rollover is all about. What seemed implausible to "mighty America" in 1981, is not so implausibe right now. Not after the U.S. had to basically convert to a Socialist economy to prevent a world wide economic collapse.

So watch the movie, try to ignore the goofy scenes,and take in the good acting and what has moved from a ridiculous conspiracy theory, to a very plausible scenario.

Although based on a different scenario, the concept of a financial breakdown as shown in the film is much more realistic then most folks understand. An excellent film to better appreciate our current wall street economic meltdown.

If you want an insight into today's financial crisis, this movie will give it to you. A little dated, for sure, but well worth watching.

I had seen this movie years ago and liked it, but couldn't remember much of it. So, I decided to buy it and liked it again (probably not as much as the first time though).

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