Pure Luck

PG

Released Aug 9, 1991

1 hr. 36 min.

Comedy

List

15%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

60%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When Valerie Highsmith (Sheila Kelley) goes missing in Mexico, it isn't too surprising, as she is generally acknowledged as having the worst luck in the world. What is surprising is that veteran investigator Raymond Campanella (Danny Glover) can't find her. Then an executive at Valerie's father's company has the idea to send Proctor (Martin Short) from accounting along with Raymond. Proctor, it turns out, also possesses terrible luck -- and is sure to tumble into the same mess Valerie did.

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Tanya B

Seen this movie so many times. It makes me laugh out loud all the time. Martin Short's humor is the best! Good comedy duo.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hilarious and heartwarming story that pays homage to the stumbling, bumbling accident prone segment of the population.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A harmless and charming comedy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/25/23

Full Review

Steve D

Not even a chuckle to be had.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

beth a

Love this movie! Martin Short is GOLD, as always. He and Danny Glover together is perfection. They don't make em like this anymore.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of Becca's favorite movies, Pure Luck has Martin Short in the traditional role you know and enjoy him for, as a bad luck office worker who can't help but be overly sure of hismelf despite destroying everything in his path. Directed by Nadia Tass and written by Francis Veber (it's based on his French movie La chèvre and it's not the only movie he made that got remade by Hollywood; there's also Le Grand Blond Avec une Chaussure Noire (The Man with One Red Shoe), L'emmerdeur (Buddy Buddy), La Cage aux Folles (The Birdcage), Le Jouet (The Toy), Les Comperes (Fathers' Day), Le Diner de Cons (Dinner for Schmucks) and Les Fugitifs ( Three Fugitives)), Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris. Short's Eugene Proctor is just as clumsy as his boss' missing daughter Valerie (Sheila Kelley), so a psychologist named Monosoff (Harry Shearer) decides that he'd be the perfect person to find her. To ensure that he doesn't screw up, he's assigned Raymond Campanella (Danny Glover) to the rescue trip to Puerto Vallarta. In an interview, Tass said, "It was successful in a financial sense but not in a satisfying sense. It was congenial doing a Martin Short comedy, but American comedy is different from Australian comedy. It is broader. American audiences enjoyed Pure Luck, but audiences in other countries did not enjoy it so much with the exception of the Germans. I wanted to do something else with the comedy and so did Danny Glover. I would like to have put a lot more pathos and pain into it. But they wanted a comedy for America." He still gets residuals from the film, so there's that. It's a silly film that has a stand out scene with Short's face swelling up from a bee sting that never fails to make me laugh. Yeah, it's not much, but if you get one laugh from it, can it be that bad?

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Nadia Tass

Director

Martin Short

Eugene Proctor

Danny Glover

Raymond Campanella

Sheila Kelley

Valerie Highsmith

Sam Wanamaker

Highsmith

Scott Wilson

Frank Grimes

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: D-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: 1/5

Jul 16, 2004

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This is not a bad idea for a movie. But Pure Luck is a bad movie, all right -- with leaden timing, a disorganized screenplay, and stretches where nothing much of interest seems to be happening.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Martin Short has a few inspired moments here, but they aren't sufficient. [Full review in Spanish]

Jan 20, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a decidedly broad premise that’s employed to erratic yet mostly agreeable effect by Nadia Tass...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 10, 2022

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Moronic slapstick buddy comedy.

Rated: C

Jun 4, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

When Valerie Highsmith (Sheila Kelley) goes missing in Mexico, it isn't too surprising, as she is generally acknowledged as having the worst luck in the world. What is surprising is that veteran investigator Raymond Campanella (Danny Glover) can't find her. Then an executive at Valerie's father's company has the idea to send Proctor (Martin Short) from accounting along with Raymond. Proctor, it turns out, also possesses terrible luck -- and is sure to tumble into the same mess Valerie did.

Director: Nadia Tass
Executive Producer: Francis Veber
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Sean Daniel Company
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 9, 1991, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.3M
Sound Mix: Surround

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