The Linguini Incident

The Linguini Incident
The Linguini Incident
Directed by	Richard Shepard
Written by	Tamar Brott; Richard Shepard
Produced by	Sarah Jackson; Arnold Orgolini
Starring	Rosanna Arquette; David Bowie; Eszter Balint; Marlee Matlin; Buck Henry; Viveca Lindfors
Cinematography	Robert Yeoman
Music by	Thomas Newman
Distributed by	Academy Entertainment
Release date	May 1, 1991;
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Linguini Incident (released on home video as Shag-O-Rama) is a 1991 American crime comedy film set in New York starring David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette. The film was directed by Richard Shepard, who co-wrote the script with Tamar Brott. The name refers to linguini, a type of pasta.

Plot[]

A British bartender, Monte, wishes to marry a waitress at the restaurant he works at ostensibly so that he can get his green card. Waitress and aspiring escape artist, Lucy, and hopeful Vivian, wish to rob Monte's and Lucy's employer in order to fund their ambitions. Monte agrees to help the duo rob the restaurant so long as Lucy marries him. While the robbery does not go precisely according to plan, the trio are successful. However, Lucy accidentally leaves Monte at the altar, causing him to lose a two million dollar bet with the restaurant owners that he could marry a waitress in a week. In a Double or nothing scenario, Monte wagers Lucy's skills as an escape artist. He tricks the women into playing along, claiming that the bosses found out about the robbery. The women appear to forgive him for lying about the circumstances of the escape performance. The two women rob the restaurant a second time. The relationship of the women and Monte remains ambiguous in the end.

Cast[]

David Bowie as Monte
Rosanna Arquette as Lucy
Marlee Matlin as Jeanette
Eszter Balint as Vivian
Buck Henry as Cecil
Viveca Lindfors as Miracle
Andre Gregory as Dante
Kathy Kinney as Denise
James Avery as Phil
as Bread Man

Iman and Julian Lennon have brief cameos in the movie.^[1]

Release[]

The movie was released to VHS in 1992.

Critical response[]

Reviews of the movie were mostly negative. Empire magazine gave the movie one star out of five, calling it "an unbearably protracted dud".^[2] Variety magazine called the movie an "uninspired, poverty row production" and lamented the miscasting of Bowie in the lead role.^[1] In contrast, Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, and approved of Bowie's casting.^[3] TV Guide gave the movie 2 stars out of 5.^[4]

Notes[]

^ ^a ^b Cohn, Lawrence (May 4, 1992). "Review: The Linguini Incident". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^ "Reviews: The Linguini Incident". London, England: Bauer Media Group. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
^ Maslin, Janet (May 1, 1992). "Movies: The Linguini Incident". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^ "The Linguini Incident (Review)". TV Guide. New York City: CBS Corporation. Retrieved February 20, 2015.

External links[]

The Linguini Incident at IMDb
The Linguini Incident at the TCM Movie Database
The Linguini Incident at AllMovie

[variety-1] Cohn, Lawrence (May 4, 1992). "Review: The Linguini Incident". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 20, 2015.

[2] "Reviews: The Linguini Incident". London, England: Bauer Media Group. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 20 February 2015.

[3] Maslin, Janet (May 1, 1992). "Movies: The Linguini Incident". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved February 20, 2015.

[4] "The Linguini Incident (Review)". TV Guide. New York City: CBS Corporation. Retrieved February 20, 2015.

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