Outrageous Fortune (1987)

An under appreciated gem. Both ladies were hilarious. A true opposites attract buddy comedy. “Because we’re gonna get raped and murdered on this block!” That joke would not fly today unfortunately.

Love this movie!

I caught this on TV recently, by random coincidence. I love 80s movies but had never heard of it before. Great fun.

People who trash the 80s need to watch some 80s movies. Yes there was crap, then there were movies like this that show the 80s produced some really fun movies.

I don't care what anyone says, I liked Shelley Long's movies - The Money Pit, Hello Again, Outrageous Fortune, Troop Beverly Hills. They're movies that still make me laugh 30 years later. Maybe it didn't pay off for her as she didn't become a box office star but I respect her decision to leave Cheers and try. She still built up a pretty good resume those few years.

As for Outrageous Fortune, I think it's the best film Shelley did. Her uptightness worked so well with Bette's brashness.

Laughed my head off in the theater. For some reason it didn't wear as well the last time I watched it.

[quote]People who trash the 80s need to watch some 80s movies. Yes there was crap, then there were movies like this that show the 80s produced some really fun movies.

Especially the comedies

Her best film by far, r5, was Irreconcilable Differences.

Miller claimed Long was difficult and said that she had "No plans to work with her again" on Oprah after thus movie came out

Bette also said, "It was a tough shoot ".

Oh and Shelly Long is a cunt!

Her best film by far, [R5], was Irreconcilable Differences.

So true R8! I wonder why Irreconcilable Diff doesn’t get more love from DL given Ryan O’Neal and Sharon Stone. Both were great, but Shelley Long steals it - funny as hell. And it’s one of the few movies that has a love story I actually bought. Very tender and sweet. Lovely film.

Time again to post this.

Another bonus of Outrageous Fortune. I thought Peter Coyote was pretty sexy.

"I attacked him in a Burger King!"

[Quote][sic]Miller claimed Long was difficult and said that she had "No plans to work with her again" on Oprah after [sic]thus movie came out

Let's hear it in Bette's own words, r9. It was a delicious reveal from her.

It's amazing that they both found it so rough because it doesn't come across in the film at all.

And how they knew it wasn't his body, r12.

If you compare Shelly’s post Cheers filmography to Jen Aniston’s post Friends filmography it really illuminates how important it is to be well liked in Hollywood.

I actually well up when Shelley Long makes that jump at the end.

Jennifer Aniston's filmography makes Madonna's look prestigious.

Great song over the end credits...

I've always believed Shelley Long would have had a better go in Hollywood if she acted a bit quicker. Outrageous Fortune was a genuine hit, while Hello Again was an under-performer. According to IMDB, all she did in 1988 was a Bob Hope special. I've heard she was considered for Working Girl, though, and turned down My Stepmother is an Alien. Anyway, Troop Beverly Hills (a film I love) bombs and from then on, the "what were you thinking?" narrative takes over.

"Does the phrase 'needle dick bug fucker' mean anything to you?"

I can't imagine Bette Midler was all that easy to work with, either. The actresses fought over top billing, eventually agreeing that Shelley Long would get it in half the country and Midler would get it in the other half.

Wish we saw more of Shelley these days. She's very talented, and it seems her difficult reputation stems from her perfectionistic impulses. She takes her work incredibly seriously, and a "good enough" attitude on set was not enough to satisfy her.

It makes you wonder how Shelley would have done with today's single-camera TV production rather than the multi-camera, studio audience format. Also, I'm curious how well she actually did as a member of the Second City.

[quote]I've always believed Shelley Long would have had a better go in Hollywood if she acted a bit quicker.

Timing was not the problem. The problem is she annoyed everyone she worked with, and word got around.

Anyone remember her as the hooker with a heart of gold in Night Shift? Great movie.

Or Hello Again (with Shelley Long), or The Money Pit (with Shelley Long), or Irreconcilable Differences (with Shelley Long), or Troop Beverly Hills (with Shelley Long), etc... Man, she really was in the best 80's movies. Why doesn't she get more credit?

I feel like Ruthless People was Bette's better film. R26 great movie! I love Johnny Blaze!

I remember sneaking into this movie when I was 11 or so. Probably bought a ticket to American Tail or something. My little gay ass knew this movie was a genuine gift to the gods. Shelley and Bette were in great form but let’s be honest... it was ALL ABOUT Bette. She was so over the top and this was right during her insane Touchstone run of hits ... Down and Out, Ruthless, OF, Beaches, Big Business. I mean Jesus H Christ!!!!

"NICE BUNS, BOYS!!!" -- Shelley

I watched Hello Again not long ago. Likeable enough, Shelly was great but what really struck me was how modest (or amateurish) it looked. Like it was quickly put together over a long weekend. Basic lighting, photography, sets, etc. For a big Hollywood movie!

When they impersonate the Russian (?) sisters to try to charm the surly airport agent... comic gold.

Hello Again was wonderful. I never understood how Sela Ward's best friend and Shelley's husband turned into such dicks with Shelley only dead a year.

Update to the past few years. Shelley went thru extremely difficult times, (might be bipolar), had at least one suicide attempt, gained a lot of weight, and only works sporadically: an occasional tv appearance now and then, like Modern Family.

Bette just won a Tony for Hello Dolly! Bette could afford to be a bit more sympathetic.

Bette's horrible to work with. Very few costars have anything nice to say about her.

r27 in retrospect, yes, she really made some winners. And in my opinion, movies that are still beloved. Irreconcilable Differences got good reviews, and Outrageous Fortune and Money Pit both did decent box office. Troop Beverly Hills is one of those films that became a hit on video and has endured as a cult favourite. She also did the Brady Bunch movies (which she was very good in). She didn't exactly have a Caruso-type flop film career, although it seems to be written off that way. I wish she had made more movies. I think she is very funny and can give strong performances with the right role.

While I agree that Bette has the showy part, the film wouldn't work the same without Shelley. It's the chemistry that works so well. Perhaps the tension is what makes it work. The thing about Shelley is that she had chemistry with everyone she worked with - Ted Danson, Ryan O'Neal, Tom Hanks, Craig T. Nelson, Ed O'Neill, Bette, heck, even Tom Cruise.

Both Bette and Shelley are extremely difficult to work with, but for different reasons.

Shelley is a perfectionist, and never satisfied. She will try to re-shoot every scene she can do and never settles.

Bette is extremely insecure, and badmouths every co-star she has ever had who threatens to take a project away from her. She badmouthed long during this, and Lily Tomlin during "Big Business," and so on and so forth.

[quote]I feel like Ruthless People was Bette's better film.

Still holds up after all this time.

The late '80s were both their peak periods and this film captured them at their best.

Bette doesn't care for these pictures. Vanity Fair did a profile of her around this time, and Bette was pissed that she wasn't getting the chance to do more dramas, and almost seemed to resent the box office success she was having. A few years later when TV Guide did an interview with her around the time of Gypsy, she said the three pictures she was proud of doing were The Rose, Beaches and For the Boys. The 80's comedies were tossed off as meaningless fluff.

In recent years, she has added Hocus Pocus to the list of her favorites. But she hasn't shown any love towards her mid late 80's comedy output. Even First Wives Club doesn't get much from her either, except to say that she knew the movie success wasn't going to get better roles. She always wanted to be a great dramatic actress and felt that no one appreciated her talent enough to give her those roles.

Great film, and Peter Coyote is nasty hot in it. Bette rocks

Boy is she not good as a dramatic actress. I recently saw "The Rose" for the first time, and while she was great singing, in the dramatic scenes she stank on ice.

She is a very fine comic actress though. Terrific in this movie, and even better in "Big Business" and "Down and Out in Beverly hills."

Bette and Shelley were terrific in "Outrageous Fortune". For people that didn't get along, they had great on-screen chemistry. and balance each other very well. "Big Business" is my favorite Bette comedy, but she completely steals the film from poor Lily Tomlin.

I never knew Bette bad-mouthed Lily. What a shame. Going back to Troop Beverly Hills, I'm not sure if their time overlapped, but I know Shelley, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross and Ann Ryerson (Chica's mom) are all Second City Chicago alums.

Regarding Bette revering her own dramatic work- to this day she feels like she was robbed of the Oscar for The Rose. I’m not sure she could hate anyone more than Sally Field for stealing “her” Oscar.

Also, can we quickly discuss her eponymous CBS sitcom that was a big flop? You just KNOW she couldn’t get out of her own way with that one. There’s really no reason it couldn’t have been a success a la Cybil. I have no doubt she was a nightmare to the writing staff and really- everyone else who had the misfortune of working on it.

[quote] She badmouthed long during this, and Lily Tomlin during "Big Business," and so on and so forth.

Ooh, what did she say about Tomlin? I love Lily but I don't think she's any peach to work with either.

Besides Bette's behavior, I think her sitcom flopped because of a bad timeslot (Wednesday at 8, against Millionaire; it could have survived on Monday) and female-led sitcoms just weren't attracting audiences in 2000. She'd have been too famous in 1990, but oh, how I'd have loved to have seen it.

On Inside the Actors Studio, Bette was more complimentary of her 80s comedies, although they didn't mention any details about Outrageous Fortune.

Regarding Ruthless People, she saw the premiere with her husband and his father and they didn't like it. That night, Danny DeVito called her and they both freaked out about how the movie would bomb and they would be back where they started.

"And y'know, it ended up being one of the biggest hits of my career," she smiles. "I KNOW NOTHING."

[quote] Miller claimed Long was difficult and said that she had "No plans to work with her again" on Oprah after thus movie came out

We made a similar decision after wrapping First Wives Club

Shelly Long IS Carol Brady!

“Oh...no. Is that urine I see on the floor?”

Bette's sitcom was just terrible.

"You defiled a Christmas tree!?"

"After I saved you from being throttled????"

They hated each other's guts, but the film is gold.

[quote]"You defiled a Christmas tree!?"

No one saaww!

I think it would have been a coup for the final scene to have Kirstie Alley play the Long role with a wink to the audience

Love Outrageous Fortune and Big Business. They both are great in movies even though they do have a bad rep behind the scenes. Didn't the crew of The Stepford Wives call Midler "The Cancer"'?

I think Bette's strength is comedy, much like Streisand. However, they picture themselves as these great dramatic actresses and that's usually when I find them lousy. Look at Midler's Gypsy. I'd say she's fairly winning for the first hour or so (when Mama Rose is basically no more than a hilariously brassy broad), but when the show starts to get darker, she can't keep up and she makes some genuinely embarrassing choices. Check out her pre-"Rose's Turn" monologue if you ever need a laugh. It's shamefully awful and easily the single most over the top performance I've ever witnessed.

I think Streisand is marginally better as a dramatic actress.

Bette proved herself as a poor dramatic actress in the 1990 remake of Stella Dallas, Barbara Stanwyck's classic from the 1930s about a working-class woman's sacrifice to provide a better life for her daughter. It was just called Stella, and Bette was unbelievably bad in this hokum. What was she thinking?

BTW, For the Boys, made the year after, was pretty grim, too, aside from the musical numbers. But Bette scored a surprise Oscar nomination -- must've been for her singing. Those two flops pretty much ended Bette's movie comeback until her co-starring role in the low-brow comedy hit First Wives Club in 1996. Then nothing again

Hocus Pocus if for the kiddies.

Oh please! “Beaches” had very dramatic scenes. She is a fine dramatic actress. Do you remember “The Rose”? She was perfect. She was nominated for an Oscar. As for “Gypsy” she was wonderful; she stole the TV movie. “Rose’s Turn” was spectacular.

Yes, I’m a fan; she’s one of the best!

Regarding Ruthless People. I never heard my mother laughing harder than in that moment where Bette made that gesture what she would do to her husband's balls. I didn't get what she was laughing about back then since I was still an infant. Then I re-watched the movie in 2000 and got it *LOL*.

Really? Bette was wonderful in Gypsy? haha! I'll give her the first act where she can coast by on her brass and charm, but she peaks during "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and I found her "Rose's Turn" to be the least interesting version I've ever seen. Then again, the whole film is presented without style. Why does it seem like all the fucking houselights are on during that song? It just seemed weird.

"Nine years of ballet, asshole!"

I watched it today, thank to this thread. One of my oldest friends died this week, and this was one of our favorite movies when we were kids. Brought up a lot of good memories.

Shelley was really fabulous in this...she played it perfectly and got a little bit more to do since Bette was pregnant and couldn't do a lot of the physical stuff. As it is, many of Bette's scenes are obviously done by her stand-in/stunt double.

I agree with you about Shelley, r65. She's so wonderful in it. The bit as the final credits roll and you hear them both arguing still is so funny. "Shit? SHIT? You're calling [italic]my Hamlet[/italic] *shit*??" So sorry to hear about your friend x

I preferred the prequel.

Minnelli is like Midler. She's more the gawky Carol Burnett type but with her Halston makeover, someone thought she could be a romantic leading lady. No way.

I like this one a lot, but not as much as Ruthless People and Big Business. Bette cannot act, but she’s hilarious in comedy. Even when she tries to interpret dramatic songs, it falls flat for me. She has a great voice and is a stunning showman, but Meryl she ain’t.

PS: maybe she’s mellowed, but I’ve not heard one cross word about Bette from the Broadway company of Hello Dolly.

Both Shelley Long and Bette Midler were promised top billing when they signed to do the film; however, neither was willing to give up top billing to the other. To compromise, Long received top billing in advertising west of the Mississippi River, and Midler received the honor in the east and this included the film's credits too.

East coast one sheet (poster) ...

West coast....

Loved the Touchstone films

Fun movie, but yikes, they'd never get away with all the Native American stereotypes and "cultural appropriation" today.

Am I alone in thinking that George Carlin was the weakest link in this movie? I feel like when he came on, the movie went south. He bugged the shit out of me.

Bette Midler has had a lot more misses than hits as a dramatic actress. Beaches worked because her character could lean into humor.

For The Boys was warmed over schlock and Bette did it no favors.

Dolly was her triumph because it hits all her sweet spots - a little acting, a lot of singing.

[quote]Bette proved herself as a poor dramatic actress in the 1990 remake of Stella Dallas, Barbara Stanwyck's classic from the 1930s about a working-class woman's sacrifice to provide a better life for her daughter. It was just called Stella, and Bette was unbelievably bad in this hokum. What was she thinking?

John Candy was suppose to be cast as her husband but Bette insisted he audition for the part because she didn't believe he could do the role which enraged him so much that he tore up the script and tossed it in the trash. Maybe it worked out for the better.

Agreed R72. Touchstone made some damn good movies over the years.

[quote]Both Shelley Long and Bette Midler were promised top billing when they signed to do the film; however, neither was willing to give up top billing to the other. To compromise, Long received top billing in advertising west of the Mississippi River, and Midler received the honor in the east and this included the film's credits too.

LOL

I know Bette Midler and she was a fucking masterpiece in Hello Dolly. That was a consummate performance, even if her voice is reedy and pitchy, she couldn't have done more to bring each moment to life. I begged not to go and still can't shut up about what a night it was. Her movies I don't know so well because I am younger but I've seen the mostly dreadful Rose and the pretty funny Ruthless People and grew up on Hocus Pocus. I have no point but this...Shelley Long was pretty? She looks pretty in these clips. I thought she was Olive Oil?

How can people not like 'The Rose', it is cool

[quote]I have no point but this...Shelley Long was pretty? She looks pretty in these clips. I thought she was Olive Oil?

1. Olive OYL, not Oil.

2. That was Shelley Duvall.

Oh, well that's fine. About Olive Oil. Don't know Shelley Duvall. Another bad movie was Popeye I yam. Thanks. But The Rose is schlock. Midler looks great as a braless rocker and some of the musical shots are pretty great but the acting is terrible - oh the drag queen scene is embarrassing - A Joplin like rocker running through a gay bath house is ridiculous and Midler's sing song line readings alternating with her raspy pleading ones are amatuer hour. She's a desperate junkie as played by Shirley Temple. She repeats that in a lot of her films. I guess that's her "acting." Midler is sexy in The Rose though. That's an accomplishment. And Shelley Duvall looks really pretty in the film this thread is about. Thanks for correcting me or whatever you did R81.

Drunk or dumb, r82 is just another millennial speed bump.

No Shelley Duvall? Apparently you missed The Shining. Or perhaps Dr. Phil?

And I've spent time in Ms. Midler's' company. She is vile.

You ever bump into this millenial and you'll forsake Dr. Phil gramps @ R83. We can't all stay home to watch diet and skin care tips in the afternoon. I'm not drunk fool. It's only monday. My body is your temple. Down you go.

It's too bad that stupid knows no age.

and r83 was my first and only post. You have a lot to learn.

FormerBHManny... tell us one of your Bette Midler experiences!

Hate that bitch

Big business with Bette and lily Tomlin is by far a better movie. Funny as fuck

Christmas Party, West Knoll, West Hollywood.

Meeting people you admire can be really disappointing....

Weirdest thing, I found her almost homophobic in a house full of gushing queens. And she is/was really homely.

Roon Dimmick: Hey, I like your kimono! D'ya get that in 'Nam?

Chuck: Ah no, Fire Island.

Shelley Long must have had billing issues on Cheers too.

They use that odd thing where Ted Danson's name is lower on the left side of the screen and Long's is high up on the right side. So if you read from top to bottom she comes first, if you read left to right he does.

I've seen that on other films too. (The Towering Inferno for instance. )

I've always thought Bette's nomination for For the Boys was out of sympathy. She promoted the hell out of that movie and she was everywhere. When the movie flopped, I guess people felt bad for her? Maybe she's not that hated in Hollywood because even I was surprised she was nominated.

I thought The Rose would be a DL fave but it doesn't get much love on here. I love the soundtrack and the movie. Bette is great in it. Stay With Me is a stunner.

Didn't know about r76. One of the many reasons why Candy's death was such a loss was because he really was a great actor. The scene in Uncle Buck where he sees that his brother and sister-in-law have intentionally kept his face out of their pictures is a heartbreaker.

Midler won the Golden Globe for For the Boys and I think that got her noticed at the academy.

R91 It's called a split billing for the reason you guessed. Penny and Cindy have it on Laverne & Shirley.

The Beverly Hills Granny is touchy. You insulted me dude. Why would I care how many times? I ain't got time to track your posts. Your Bette Midler expose was fascinating though....keep signing your name.

Your insights are a real value to any conversation r95.

And I always sign my name. Perhaps you'd be more at home in the tip jar thread?

Thanks! What's a tip jar thread? I ain't showing you my dick man. What the fuck is a manny anyway...antiquated term 6 months after it began and 10 years later that's your moniker? Some old dudes will do anything to get close to young kids. No thanks. Keep those exploits in your Bette Midler memory jar please.

R96, it seems apparent that the "BH" stands for "Beverly Hills." Is that correct? I asked once in another thread but I'm not sure you saw that.

I had no idea Shelley Long came from Second City until I read it in a book a couple of years ago. They don't tout her.

Of course, much of SC is sketch comedy, but you do have to be able to improvise and do it well in order to get there. I just can't square Shelley's very controlled, perfectly rehearsed comedy style with the loose riffing you need to be able to do to perform good improv.

OMG, the whole time I'm reading this thread I was getting this movie mixed up with Ruthless People. Shelley isn't even in that movie, that was Helen Slater.

Ruthless People was hilarious and one of the best films starring Bette Midler. It seems to get frequent airplay on premium cable, so I guess I'm not the only one that loved it.

Thanks to this thread I watched it again and totally forgot about Christopher McDonald being in this as the hot, gay ballet dancer who asks Shelley Long's character for a date to do some research about being straight.

"There's a kidney waiting in Kanas and it ain't gettin' any fresher!"

[quote]Even when she tries to interpret dramatic songs, it falls flat for me. She has a great voice and is a stunning showman, but Meryl she ain’t.

Contrarily, I think she has a limited voice but has the ability to put across a song like few others.

R96 formerBHmanny

I enjoy your posts. I only request that you please stop feeding the trolls. The sooner you stop, the sooner they'll go away. I promise.

Bette's first few Touchstone movies are so good because they are movies that rarely get made anymore: adult comedies for adults. Ruthless People, Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Outrageous Fortune. I love R-rated comedies. And she was hilarious in them.

R105. total agreement.

With apologies to the Big Business fan up-thread. I was disappointed. Great premise. Perfect casting. I couldn't wait to see it. I thought it had it's moments, but the concept was definitely far better than the execution. And for me, Lily Tomlin's subtlety played much better than Bette's broadness. I did think Fred Ward was kinda hot.

I remembered the experience of seeing it far better than the actual movie. My friend got tickets to a special screening in Hollywood, (I think at the Chinese Theater), a couple weeks before it opened. We got there one hour early to make sure we'd get decent seats. We were among the first to arrive and had the theater to ourselves. As we were chatting, people started to fill in around us. Then my friend pointed to two girls in the row right in front of us a few seats away. They were identical twins. Then there was another set. Then another set. And so on...and so on. We finally realized we were at a special screening specifically for identical twins. Obviously, a promotional stunt. It was surreal! When the movie ended, tv cameras were out front from local news, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, etc. Pretty fuckin' funny.

It's a shame they didn't get along. I could easily have seen a sequel.

Female buddy comedies can really work when there is the right chemistry - like this film, or The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, which is surprisingly funny.

LOVED The Heat. Funny that Sandra Bullock was considered the bigger star when it came out.

[quote]Funny that Sandra Bullock was considered the bigger star when it came out.

I have an Oscar, bitch!

R106, I disagree. I think Bette completely steals the movie from Lily Tomlin, unlike Outrageous Fortune, where both actresses hold their own against each other.

Loved all of Bette's movies, except for Down And Out In Beverly Hills, which had a few good moments , but nothing special...and the dreadful Scenes From A Mall, which did the impossible: it made Bette and Woody Allen unfunny.

r109, yeah, I didn't expect I would like it but I laughed a lot during the film. I loved Melissa's family in the film. Jane Curtain is a treasure. Even Joey McIntyre was funny in it

I just rewatched this, for the first time since it came out. It was fun.