Slamdance

R

1987

1 hr. 39 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

17%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

52%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Cartoonist C.C. Drood (Tom Hulce) is estranged from his wife, Helen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), and involved with Yolanda Caldwell (Virginia Madsen), a high-class call girl. After Yolanda is murdered, Drood becomes the prime suspect in the killing. Determined to clear his name, Drood investigates Yolanda's death on his own and discovers a shady conspiracy that extends all the way to the police force, but this revelation may cost the inquisitive man not just his freedom but his life too.

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Savannah W

Flashdance But Even Worse With A Cartoonist Literally Played By Mozart (Tom Hulce)

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Watchable neo-noir that I picked up on the recommendation of a friend - was a decent little afternoon of entertainment, and something that I hadn't been aware of before so that was kinda cool. Worth a rental if you have the chance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

i loiked this stylish off beat comedy

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

(***): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] An interesting mystery.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Since no one else has written about Slam Dance. An off the beaten path film and probably not for everyone. This fairly difficult, but impossible film has a free flowing kind of narrative structure and some creative transitioning between It's scenes and snapshot moments. Which can be jarring and a bit confusing, but if you pay attention and think about it, it shouldn't be as elusive as say Mulholland Dr. (Good luck finding a point in that shifting art gallery. And yet people will submit to its seduction anyway and not feel cheated, now that's talent.) It's a well shot and attractive film especially for the 80's. It's able to escape many of the pitfalls of its decade's dated problems to feel much of the time like a movie that could've been made whenever, if but for a few elements. Some themes to help understand its ambiguity better are regret, poor luck, mistakes, and some very bad choices (I realize those two are nearly the same, but there is a difference at times). The critics were a little hard on this film, although it wouldn't guess it by the critics who gave praise on the DVD case.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fellow consumer-grade reviewer, Ms. Caldwell, is correct. Typically I can appreciate/understand a given rating on RT, even if I disagree strongly with it, and by extension the professional reviewers. Haven't seen this film since its release as a teenager, so can't speak to how well it has aged, but it was terrific. Superb performances from a fascinating batch of actors/actresses, even Adam Ant. Coming off critically praised Amadeus, Hulce was on a roll. Many will adore this film, especially those that grew up in the era.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Wayne Wang

Director

Tom Hulce

C.C. Drood

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Helen Drood

Virginia Madsen

Yolanda Caldwell

Millie Perkins

Bobby Nye

Adam Ant

Jim Campbell

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The plot of this movie is a little infuriating, because it gets in the way of the people.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Juan Carlos Coto

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Slam Dance's advertisement proclaims, "It's NOT about dancing." In the end, it's not about much else, either.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 19, 2021

Full Review

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Apr 22, 2005

Full Review

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Oughtta come with a decoder ring.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 3, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Dec 18, 2004

Full Review

Sarah Chauncey

Reel.com

Terrible movie, but so much fun to watch

Rated: 2/5

Jun 10, 2004

Full Review

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Synopsis

Cartoonist C.C. Drood (Tom Hulce) is estranged from his wife, Helen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), and involved with Yolanda Caldwell (Virginia Madsen), a high-class call girl. After Yolanda is murdered, Drood becomes the prime suspect in the killing. Determined to clear his name, Drood investigates Yolanda's death on his own and discovers a shady conspiracy that extends all the way to the police force, but this revelation may cost the inquisitive man not just his freedom but his life too.

Director: Wayne Wang
Executive Producer: Cary Brokaw
Screenwriter: Don Opper
Production Co: Zenith Entertainment, Sho Films, Island Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $125.3K
Sound Mix: Surround

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