O.C. and Stiggs

R

1987

1 hr. 49 min.

Comedy

List

40%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

51%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Two guys (Daniel Jenkins, Neill Barry) target an Arizona insurance tycoon (Paul Dooley) for canceling one's grandfather.

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Nicholas B

It's a great movie that I would highly recommend to anyone who just wants to have a good time. While I get its humor is not for everyone, I found it a very fun and entertaining movie with great acting and stellar cinematography.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/21/23

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Audience Member

The actual date for the release of this movie is under some debate, as director Robert Altman — yes, the same one who did Nashville — shot the film in 1983, it was copyrighted in 1985, then shelved until it got a small theatrical release in 1987 and 1988. Now, we could debate whether Altman is the right person to shoot a National Lampoon magazine, but then again, I kind of like this movie, which has a ramshackle all over the place feel to it. Loosely based on stories written by Ted Mann and Tod Carroll. O.C. and Stiggs were recurring characters in the magazine, with the entire October 1982 issue being about "The Utterly Monstrous Mind-Roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs." One of the big differences is that the print version of the characters are destructive while their film versions are a little more socially redeemable. O.C., which means Oliver Cromwell Oglivie (Daniel H. Jenkins), and Stiggs (Neill Barry) are two Arizona teens whose idea of a great night is driving their car, the Gila Monster, to pick up girls, get booze from Wino Bob (Melvin van Peebles) and pick up some ladies. And oh yeah, drive the Schwab family — Randall (Paul Dooley), Elinore (Jane Curtin), Randall Jr. (Jon Cryer) and Lenore (Laura Urstein) — nuts. Altman's argument is that while audiences to see his take on Porky's, he saw through the fake outrage in those movies and was delivering a satire. But yeah. No one else wanted that. As the director himself said, "It was a satire of teen sex comedies, gosh darn it, not an example of that dubious breed!" But hey! Ray Walston is great as always as Gramps and it's kinda inspired to get Dennis Hopper to be in one of these movies. He even flies his helicopter so Mark can woo Cynthia Nixon. It's kind of fascinating to me that this movie was even made and that's pretty much the charm of it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

Robert Altman was a great independent maverick filmmaker, but I'm not going to say everything was gold. While O.C & Stiggs can be mildly entertaining, I don't think it's a very smart farce film, and the story at times feels a little messy to me.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

master director Robert Altman stretches his legs directing this raunchy teen comedy/drive-in pic.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Robert Altman directs this film about two teens with a strange sense of humor and lifestyle, who spend a good chunk of their time trying to torment a family known as the Schwabs. The movie is puzzling, both in it's own story, and why Altman would decide to adapt a movie out of two recurring characters from the National Lampoon magazine. His style and sense of humor doesn't gel with the style and sense of humor of National Lampoon...and the whole thing is kind of a mess. Altman is best when he just does his own thing, but he had this idea of trying to adapt things and force them into his own style...and it often ended up with misfires like this.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

(*** 1/2): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] A very strange and funny film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Robert Altman

Director

Daniel Jenkins

O.C.

Neill Barry

Stiggs

Paul Dooley

Randall Schwab

Jane Curtin

Elinore Schwab

Martin Mull

Pat Coletti

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Auteur Robert Altman Passes Away at 81

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

even as O.C. and Stiggs bring down their neighbourhood capitalist, they themselves end up beneficiaries of Reaganomics, in an ensemble film that uses layers of dialectic to expose the contradictions of the age.

Jul 6, 2023

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Janet Maslin

New York Times

Its notion of American artificiality runs so deep that the film begins and ends at a man-made surfing beach in the middle of the desert.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 11, 2006

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

I found little to like in this incoherent, gross, and juvenile farce by film-maker Robert Altman.

Rated: C

Mar 18, 2013

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a massive failure on every single level...

Rated: 0/4

Dec 7, 2005

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Shane Burridge

rec.arts.movies.reviews

(Altman's) distinctive, observational satire is poles apart from the sophomoric humor that trademarks the Lampoon

Jun 28, 2003

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Synopsis

Two guys (Daniel Jenkins, Neill Barry) target an Arizona insurance tycoon (Paul Dooley) for canceling one's grandfather.

Director: Robert Altman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Nov 15, 2005
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.3K