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The Pick-Up Artist

Play trailer 1:26 Poster for The Pick-Up Artist PG-13 Released Sep 11, 1987 1h 21m Romance Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
58% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Serial pick-up artist and commitment-phobe Jack Jericho (Robert Downey Jr.) takes lessons in the art of seduction from aging player Phil Harper (Danny Aiello). Jack finds a formidable opponent in Randy Jensen (Molly Ringwald), a fiery tour guide who has a retort for his every line. Though she initially spurns his advances, Jack finds a way in when Randy's alcoholic, compulsive gambler father, Flash (Dennis Hopper), ends up in serious debt and deep trouble with gangsters in Atlantic City.

Critics Reviews

View All (24) Critics Reviews
Henry Sheehan Chicago Reader he Pick-Up Artist is not going to change anyone's life or deflect the course of film history, but it's an invigorating and enjoyable entertainment... Rated: 3/4 May 10, 2022 Full Review Variety Staff Variety James Toback's long-gestating portrait of a one-track mind becomes bogged down in unconvincing plot mechanics. Feb 27, 2008 Full Review Janet Maslin New York Times The film roams from the Upper West Side to Coney Island to Atlantic City, maintaining a lighthearted style that doesn't quite match the hints of obsessiveness in Mr. Toback's screenplay. Rated: 2.5/5 May 20, 2003 Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine Instead of utilising these elements to create an engaging drama, Toback squanders them to make a actively unlikeable one. Rated: 3/10 Mar 6, 2024 Full Review Michael Sragow NPR's Fresh Air The Pick-Up Artist has wit, sweetness, and exuberance. Feb 3, 2021 Full Review Cathy Burke United Press International Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr. head the unusually talented cast of characters assembled for this small but taut film. Oct 9, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (149) audience reviews
Bahad j The movie was a very exciting adventure from start to finish Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/19/24 Full Review Uynga U very good rdj film with good acting Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/19/24 Full Review Munkhjargal A this movie turned out to be a very interesting movie. There were some adventurous and educational things in the movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/19/24 Full Review Slay Q Enjoyable and eccentric, exactly what you would expect from a movie such as this. Great performances by RDJ and Molly Ringwald. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Randy as a character, I went into this movie thinking that she was going to be some cliche good girl workaholic, but she ended up being just as hedonistic and wild as Jack. However there are some weird stalker-ish themes in the movie, and you never really get a good reason as to why. For some reason, Jack just decides out of the blue that Randy is the one for him, and we never really find out why he feels this way. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/14/23 Full Review Leo P Wow... This movie is ass. I'm a big RDJ fan but damn I could barely get through this movie the acting is good but everything else is so boring. Its such a slow start and the first 48 minutes of the movie it just showing him being a creep, I mean there is literally a scene where he convinces her to get in the car with him and when she ask where we are going he says "There's a special place I'm gonna take you. It's very private, very hidden." like wtf that is creepy as ill get out! Over all I give the movie a 1.5/5 stars. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review david f A solid Eighties romantic comedy. Robert Downey Jr and Molly Ringwald both playing promiscuous urbanites. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Pick-Up Artist

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Movie Info

Synopsis Serial pick-up artist and commitment-phobe Jack Jericho (Robert Downey Jr.) takes lessons in the art of seduction from aging player Phil Harper (Danny Aiello). Jack finds a formidable opponent in Randy Jensen (Molly Ringwald), a fiery tour guide who has a retort for his every line. Though she initially spurns his advances, Jack finds a way in when Randy's alcoholic, compulsive gambler father, Flash (Dennis Hopper), ends up in serious debt and deep trouble with gangsters in Atlantic City.
Director
James Toback
Producer
David L. MacLeod
Screenwriter
James Toback
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
American Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
Rating
PG-13
Genre
Romance, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 11, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 27, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$11.6M
Runtime
1h 21m
Sound Mix
Surround