Ishtar is an idiot principle movie. The characters are idiots and the people in the movie are idiots and to make the plot move forward each succeeding scene requires idiots to do something even more idiotic than they did in the last scene.
Sometimes idiot principle movies work with the public. Dumb and Dumber is an idiot principle movie that was wildly successful (this reviewer excluded). Beavis and Butthead do America is an idiot principle movie that was successful (including with this reviewer). Ishtar is an Idiot Principle movie that is wildly unsuccessful.
The reason Ishtar fails is because it truly is unfunny scripting delivered in an unfunny manner. The "buddy buddy" aspect never comes off as actual buddies who actually care about each other. It's probably a pretty safe bet that much of the bile projected towards Ishtar also has to do with the horrendous portrayal of Arabs.
The failure of Ishtar can be presented by a comparative story. The first taped radio interview this reviewer did was stopped a minute in by the interviewer. The interviewer said "you sound like you are reading the prewritten answer to the question. Use the script as a guide but be natural." Well, in Ishtar Beatty and Hoffman never rise above sounding like they are reading lines from a script. The script characters never come to life.
Towards the end of the movie Beatty and Hoffman are supposedly exhausted in the desert and at each others throats going through the sequential "big reveal" with each other. Yet one never ever feels like they are in a desert in danger of dying of thirst. There is never a bead of sweat...and they are supposedly dying of thirst? The repartee between the two is supposed to humorously escalate...but it does not. Instead it comes off sounding like they are reading their scripts for the very first time ever during the shooting.
It seems that most of the positive reviews state that other viewers just don't "get it." It's stupid American government CIA in the Middle East\Africa parody. The stupidity is what makes it so funny is what is opined. This is incorrect. Stupid dialog and stupid plot and stale acting doesn't make the movie humorous. It makes for a long unfunny movie
I didn't think Ishtar was as dreadful as Neighbors. But it wasn't much better. And I wouldn't recommend going out of one's way to see it
Sometimes idiot principle movies work with the public. Dumb and Dumber is an idiot principle movie that was wildly successful (this reviewer excluded). Beavis and Butthead do America is an idiot principle movie that was successful (including with this reviewer). Ishtar is an Idiot Principle movie that is wildly unsuccessful.
The reason Ishtar fails is because it truly is unfunny scripting delivered in an unfunny manner. The "buddy buddy" aspect never comes off as actual buddies who actually care about each other. It's probably a pretty safe bet that much of the bile projected towards Ishtar also has to do with the horrendous portrayal of Arabs.
The failure of Ishtar can be presented by a comparative story. The first taped radio interview this reviewer did was stopped a minute in by the interviewer. The interviewer said "you sound like you are reading the prewritten answer to the question. Use the script as a guide but be natural." Well, in Ishtar Beatty and Hoffman never rise above sounding like they are reading lines from a script. The script characters never come to life.
Towards the end of the movie Beatty and Hoffman are supposedly exhausted in the desert and at each others throats going through the sequential "big reveal" with each other. Yet one never ever feels like they are in a desert in danger of dying of thirst. There is never a bead of sweat...and they are supposedly dying of thirst? The repartee between the two is supposed to humorously escalate...but it does not. Instead it comes off sounding like they are reading their scripts for the very first time ever during the shooting.
It seems that most of the positive reviews state that other viewers just don't "get it." It's stupid American government CIA in the Middle East\Africa parody. The stupidity is what makes it so funny is what is opined. This is incorrect. Stupid dialog and stupid plot and stale acting doesn't make the movie humorous. It makes for a long unfunny movie
I didn't think Ishtar was as dreadful as Neighbors. But it wasn't much better. And I wouldn't recommend going out of one's way to see it