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Mistress (1992 film)

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Mistress
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBarry Primus
Screenplay by
Story byBarry Primus
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySven Kirsten
Edited bySteven Weisberg
Music byGalt MacDermot
Production
company
Distributed byRainbow Releasing
Release date
  • July 24, 1992 (1992-07-24)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,102,469[1]

Mistress is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Primus in his directorial debut, written by Primus and J. F. Lawton, and starring Robert De Niro, Danny Aiello, Eli Wallach, Robert Wuhl and Martin Landau.[2][3]

Plot

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A down-and-out Hollywood screenwriter and director named Marvin Landisman is working on cheaply-made instructional videos when his years-old script is read by Jack Roth, a has-been producer who offers to help Marvin find investors for his movie.

Three men willing to put up the money are found — the ruthless businessman Evan, the disturbed war veteran Carmine and the eccentric millionaire George. But each has a mistress he insists be cast in the film in exchange for his financial backing. The women are the highly talented Beverly, the alcoholic flight attendant Patricia and the perky but talentless Peggy.

Marvin repeatedly is asked to compromise his standards and change his script to accommodate these backers until the script becomes almost unrecognizable from its original form. The project also puts a strain on the marriage of Marvin and his long-patient wife Rachel.

Marvin's screenplay is a bleak one about a painter who commits suicide, and was inspired by the case of an actor named Warren who abruptly committed suicide by jumping off a building in the midst of the making of a film Marvin had been directing. Roth brings in young Stuart Stratland to adapt the script for the investors' mistresses, but not only does Stuart constantly enrage Marvin with his suggested changes, he falls in love with Peggy and they have an affair.

When Marvin's wife demands he grow up and move with her to New York, where she is opening a restaurant, he breaks up with her instead, giving his loyalty to a film that, as she puts it, nobody wants to see. On the verge of signing contracts, everything falls apart, when Beverly discovers that the role she expected to play has been drastically reduced in Peggy's favor.

Marvin is left alone, a broken man, done with Hollywood for good. Or at least until the next time Jack Roth gets in touch.

Cast

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Actor/Actress Character
Robert De Niro Evan Wright
Christopher Walken Warren Zell
Danny Aiello Carmine Rasso
Robert Wuhl Marvin Landisman
Martin Landau Jack Roth
Eli Wallach George Lieberhoff
Sheryl Lee Ralph Beverly Dumont
Jean Smart Patricia Riley
Tuesday Knight Peggy Pauline
Jace Alexander Stuart Stratland, Jr.
Laurie Metcalf Racel Landisman
Ernest Borgnine Himself
Stefan Gierasch Stuart Stratland, Sr.
Chuck Low Bernie
Tim Bagley Singing Student

Source:[4][5]

Reception

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Critical response

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Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 72% based on 18 reviews.

References

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  1. ^ "Mistress".
  2. ^ "Mistress".
  3. ^ Dancyger, Ken (2013-06-26). Global Scriptwriting. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781136048104.
  4. ^ "Mistress". Reviews. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Mistress (1992)". IMDb. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
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