Title of this article aside, George Armitage actually made six feature films and one television move over his thirty-three years in the business, but only two of them count in any meaningful way to the larger public. To say it took a long time to get to those two films is to traffick in understatement.
Armitage left his Connecticut home to try his luck in Hollywood in 1966. He quickly became an associate producer on the 20th Century Fox nighttime soaper Peyton Place. After another turn in the same position on a series called Judd for the Defense. Armitage left Fox after meeting indie icons Roger and Gene Corman. Based on his 1971 screenplay Gas-s-s-s, the Cormans gave Armitage the opportunity to write and direct his own film, Private Duty Nurses, that same year while simultaneously writing Night Call Nurses. There’s no need to go into great detail about either film; they were your typical softcore naughty nurse flicks that the ‘70s didn’t lack for. Still, they gave Armitage a start.
Armitage’s second film as a director, Hit Man, was a step up in every way for the filmmaker. At the same time, no one will classify the “blaxploitation” crime drama starring Bernie Casey and Pam Grier as a classic–even within its genre, Armitage’s growth as a filmmaker became clear. He was ready for the next step. 1975’s Vigilante Force was no one’s idea of high art, but it had a respectable budget and starred Kris Kristofferson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Victoria Principal, and Bernadette Peters–all known names at the time. It is the story of a small California town that attempts to restore order from being overrun by corporate oil workers. The film was a critical and financial disaster, and other than Armitage’s screenplay for the cop drama starring Brian Dennehy, The Last of the Finest was the last anyone heard from Armitage for nearly fifteen years.
Over those years in the Hollywood wilderness, Armitage attempted to get several screenplays off the ground, but to no avail. Then, in 1990, Armitage presented fellow Corman acolyte Johnathan Demme with a screenplay about a sociopath who pretends to be a cop and wreaks havoc across the “Magic City.” Armitage wanted Demme to direct, but the future director of The Silence of the Lambs deferred but was more than willing to back the film with Armitage as director (Demme has an Executive Producer credit on the film). The result is an off-kilter, darkly funny neo-noir about a sociopath (a career-best Alec Baldwin) who falls for a child-like prostitute (the always terrific Jennifer Jason Leigh) who commits several crimes while using a fake badge. Miami Blues has a wild, ragged quality where you get scenes like Baldwin’s Frederick J. Frenger Jr. flashing his badge, shooting a man in the league, and then saying, “Stop or I’ll shoot!” as the fellow is bleeding out on the floor. There’s also a running gag about the detective on the case (Sgt. Hoke Mosely–played by Fred Ward), who is consistently adjusting his dentures. It’s that kind of movie. Surprisingly, the film ends sweetly, with Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Susie explaining to Ward’s Detective Mosely why she stayed with him so long. Her answer: “He ate everything I cooked him, and he never hit me.” It’s a surprising grace note in a rollicking, bordering on anarchic, violent black comedy.
While Miami Blues wasn’t a huge hit, it wasn’t like any other movie released in 1990. Critics (back when they mattered) stood up for the film, including Siskel & Ebert. After nearly a decade and a half, Armitage was finally released from movie jail. Even so, Armitage took another seven years to retake the director’s chair, this time with the John Cusack vehicle, Grosse Point Blank. Set up by Cusack’s own New Crime Productions, 2000’s High Fidelity aside, Grosse Point Blank was the last movie that tapped into the singular appeal of Cuscack: his sarcasm, empathy, and unique sense of humor are on display here as a hitman attending his class reunion while on “the job.”
Depending on one’s taste, I could see any filmgoer choosing Miami Blues or Grosse Point Blank as their favorite Armitage film. Still, there can be no denying that the commercial skill of Armitage is shown as being considerably enhanced in the latter film. Grosse Point Blank’s use of music (primarily ‘80s and 90s alternative), his delightful handling of the romance between Blank and a DJ, a cheerfully free spirit by Minnie Driver, and the coaxing of the last terrific performance out of Dan Aykroyd as Blank’s rival hitman is a joy to watch. The film’s pacing is excellent, the screenplay full of chuckles and guffaws, and all the actors are pitch-perfect. Grosse Point Blank did solid business at the turnstiles and those who’ve seen it adore it. It would appear that Armitage had finally cleared his last hurdle and would go on to make several uniquely comedic crime thrillers.
Then The Big Bounce happened. At first blush, a film based on a caper novel by Elmore Leonard would appear to be right in Armitage’s hot zone. The cast was loaded with the then-peaking Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, and the lovely young actress Sara Foster. I have no clear way of knowing what went wrong with The Big Bounce, but the 60 million dollar budget for a film that seems like it could have been made for half that much must have created enormous pressure. That, plus being saddled with the miscast Wilson as the con artist, resulted in a film that left behind the bordering-on reckless quality that Armitage’s previous two films managed to hold together even as the wheels threatened to come off but never did.
The Big Bounce was the last thing one would expect from Armitage: A conventional film. When the film went into wide release, the reviews were excoriating, and the film earned back less than $4 million of its $60 million budget. What Armitage delivered was the cinematic version of a beach read–a time killer that, once the last page is closed, exits the mind almost as quickly as it entered. Despite his two brilliant predecessors, Armitage was returned to cinematic prison and never made another film.
Regardless, in a world where few people experience great artistic accomplishment, Armitage had two. He dearly deserved a chance at third.
