MAVERICK: *THE* MOST UNDERRATED MOVIE EVER!!!!

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

My old pappy always used to say, "There is no more deeply moving religious experience, than cheatin' on a cheater".

In an earlier post, I had comprehensively and irrefutably proved (😜) that 1994 was the greatest year in Hollywood spanning genres. I had also fleetingly mentioned the movie Maverick, as my most favourite comedy of the year calling it "the most enjoyable 127 minutes you'll spend staring at a screen" and that it "probably deserves a post of its own".

Maverick was released on the twentieth day of May in the ninety-fifth year of the twentieth century. It was based on the 50s-60s Western TV Series of the same name. The cast included Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, James Coburn, Alfred Molina rounded off with cameos by Graham Greene, Margot "Lois Lane" Kidder, country music stars Reba McEntire, Waylon Jennings, Clint Black and Danny Glover (probably) playing the great great grandfather of Roger Murtaugh. It was directed by the man who directed the first film to feature the great(est?) American superhero, very creatively named Superman: Richard Donner. James Garner was the original Brett Maverick in the TV show.

The plot of the movie is very simple. BrentBrett Maverick is an expert poker player, who wants to enter a $25000 entry All-Rivers Poker tournament. He is $3000 shy off the entry fee and has an adventure in attempting to beg/borrow/steal the money to enter the tournament which he does.....barely. There is a mysterious man who wants to stop him from entering it and hires a few goons, led by Alfred Molina, to do his bidding. He survives, wins the tournament by "magic", gets his money stolen again, finds it again and stolen again....well....half of it because "you don't ever put your eggs in one basket" and decides "it's gonna be whole lotta fun gettin' it back" indicating a sequel in the works.

I've just noticed something.

What?

You can't help it, can you? You are irresistible.

Kids today would find it surprising but Mel Gibson, before he became the wife-beating, kike-hating, fag-bashing alcoholic today, was a fine actor who could effortlessly pull off any action, drama and comedic roles. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jodie Foster! Woof! Boy, was she a sight for sore eyes! Jodie has never looked prettier in any movie before or after Maverick. The Victorian era corset, girdle & gown oozed a femininity that would make any red-blooded, hard-as-nails heterosexual male weak-kneed. Forget hetero, a photo of Mrs. Annabelle Bransford will go a long way in praying the gay away than any sort of Conversion Therapy. She really just couldn't help it! She really was irresistible!

A Kiss That Would Make Even Freddie Mercury Quit His "Team"

A word, very casually one might add, thrown around in any movie is "chemistry". The way Brett looks at Mrs. Bransford and says, "You are irresistible" was at least ten times as romantic as a gondola ride in full moonlit Venice night. That is what made me realize what chemistry in a movie truly was. It wasn't just Brett and Annabelle. Brett & Coop bantering, Coop & Mrs. Bransford flirting, heck even a serious scene where Angel tortures Brett forced you to ignore the tension and just made you chuckle. The jokes were mostly cheesy and yet somehow they work and work they do brilliantly!

So, are you gonna miss me?

Are you gonna miss me?

You are gonna miss me!

How do you know?

You were holding your breath.

I was not.......maybe I was.

The exchange simply warms the cockles of one's heart. Yours truly considers himself a cynic yet I cannot help but say "awwww" whenever I see this scene. If you have to see the movie to understand the in-joke. This is followed by Mrs. Bransford leaving the ship and Brett looking at her with love-filled longing blue eyes. He weaves his "magic" (watch the movie to understand) to pick a card and turns out to be.....you guessed it.... 

She Really Is!

Isn't it cheesy? Sure. 

Isn't it predictable? Yup. 

Isn't it delightfully adorable? Awww. 

It somehow works, don't it? YOU BETCHA!!!

Rotten Tomatoes summary is apposite.

It isn't terribly deep, but it's witty and undeniably charming, and the cast is obviously having fun.

Isn't that what a movie is supposed to? Make you feel good and happy at the end of the 120 odd minutes you spend watching it? Nary a movie that will make you feel better or happier than Maverick!

So what are you waiting for? Stop looking for mīnam/mēśam and go watch Maverick immediately!