Molly Ringwald, who was Pretty in Pink, proves pesky in purple in this dialogue-heavy romantic comedy. Robert Downey (who moved on to grander things five years later with Chaplin) is the girl-chaser who is more than somewhat surprised when his seasoned approaches are so successful with Ringwald that she jumps him as a soon as his car has ground to a halt. Unfortunately, Downey has leapt straight into bed with a nest of vipers, as her alcoholic father (it has to be Dennis Hopper and it is) is heavily in debt to a cabal of dangerous gamblers led by a scowling Harvey Keitel. The odds are that you won't care how the plot's confusions sort themselves out, since the script never touches the right emotions. Hopper does his familiar wild-eyed, unshaven act and veteran Mildren Dunnock crops up in a rare role as Downey's diabetic gran. But neither gets a chance to extend their character beyond the one-dimensional. Despite its short running time, the film contrives to cram 12 songs on to its inevitable pop soundtrack.


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