Hudson Hawk [UK Import]

Cat burglar Hudson Hawk (Bruce Willis) is released from prison and immediately persuaded (by his parole officer amongst others) to steal a Leonardo da Vinci statuette from an auction house. He succeeds, but the newspapers report the theft a failure, and that the auction will go ahead as scheduled. A bizarre mixture of crime caper hi-jinx, sci-fi fantasy and song-and-dance, the film was a big-budget, box office flop. Bruce Willis's awful, 1991 vanity piece is an abuse of audience goodwill and a waste of a good cast and director (Michael Lehmann of Heathers). The story of Hudson Hawk, cowritten by Willis, concerns a cat burglar pressured into stealing precious art, including some from the Vatican. But the script is just a convenience upon which Willis piles his vaguely boorish brand of hip irony, assuming his audience will stay with him every step of the way. Certain, self-congratulatory scenes induce cringing--Willis and Danny Aiello, for instance, sing "Side by Side" (to brassy accompaniment on the soundtrack) every time they're working a job--but the overall effect is more irritating and baffling. Keep a good thought for Willis (an underrated actor better than the summer junk we usually see him in) by checking out his superior work in Pulp Fiction and his small but memorable role in Billy Bathgate. --Tom Keogh