Welcome back to my blog. Here’s my recommendation of a movie to check out today and hope you punch your “Ticket to the Movies!” OK, today let’s go with a somewhat forgotten flick by director Martin Scorsese: “The Color of Money” … a billiards-themed motion picture with superstars Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. It isn’t riddled with F-bombs and over-the-top violence as is usual for Scorsese, but it is long on his best of everything else.
“The Color of Money” is a sequel to 1961’s billiards-based “The Hustler” with Newman and the iconic Jackie Gleason (directed by Robert Rossen). Newman plays “‘Fast’ Eddie Felson” and in the current flick (well, current when it was released in 1986; its 40th anniversary is this coming Oct. 17) he’s watching pool and backing a pool sharp played by actor’s actor John Turturro.
Well, Newman won an Oscar for “The Color of Money” and was a nine-time nominee. In the film, he comes across Cruise and instantly realizes undiscovered and unrefined talent – especially that Cruise is a “character” with his manic pool table-side personality. The two join forces and, along with Cruise’s girlfriend, head out on a grimy, pool hall-filled route that leads to a national tournament.
“The Color of Money” is simply wonderful characterizations by every actor. You won’t find any failures and just a few OK performances throughout the cast. Scorsese knows how to craft a film, but too often falls back on violence and F-bombs. He’s so much more than that weakness.
Newman and Cruise give top-shelf, near top-of-resume performances in “The Color of Money” and other standouts include Turturro, Bill Cobbs as a pool hall owner and Oscar-winner-to-be Forest Whitaker as a pool hustler who takes down Newman in mid-film.
So, I say punch your “Ticket to the Movies!” and watch “The Color of Money.” It is available on only a few streaming services and is mostly available through a rental fee. Find it! Watch it! Don’t worry, you’ll thank me later for “The Color of Money.”
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