Word: gondorff
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Sting II does adapt from the original and central characters of the criminal hero. Jake Hooker (Mac Davis), and his has-been mentor, Fargo Gondorff (Jackie Gleason). The first gag sets the tone of the movie, when Hooker rushes down to visit Gondorff in what had been described as "a big house with a yard," but is actually a state prison, It never improves...
Hooker and Gondorff set out to pull off an incomparable 'sting' whose unbelievability is matched only by its complexity. Their plan involves Hooker posing as a professional boxer in a real fight, but the duplicity of side-kick Veronica (Teri Garr) and the cunning of enemy Lonnegan (Oliver Reed) throw snags into the action. Lonnegan plans to alert their dangerous prey (Karl Malden) to the plot, and so dispose neatly of the pair. The viewer, impatient by the time this has all been explained, finds new amendments unremarkable...
...FILM SUFFERS from extreme clutter. The writer, David Ward, crowds the picture with so many characters and incidents that all are slighted; not one has a chance to develop logically and completely. Gondorff and Hooker are supposed to be friends. Veronica and Hooker lovers, but since they're never allowed to spend any time together one really can't be sure. The film sacrifices the characters so completely to the caprices of the plot--substituting new intricacies of action for sustained dialogue--that no actor has a chance to rise above its general level...
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