Strange Hearts (2002)

Breathtakingly ridiculous dialog, wholly unlikely plot features, and characters who seem crafted specifically to mock any attempt to take them seriously didn't stop this amazing mess from being made (of what, though? One imagines there had to be some promising kernel that ended up flowering into this egregious waste of time.) and never cleaned up. Hence, it's clear that *anything* can find the financing to see celluloid (or HD), although the process by which this one got finished would have to be more interesting than the film itself. It's entirely possible that the film's off-kilter pacing and made-for-70s-TV sensibilities could eventually land it a cult gig, but of course there's always a lot of competition for those; perhaps a film-school tale-of-caution will be this three-titled train-wreck's legacy.

The biggest star in this vehicle was Harry Hamlin, playing a character named Dan Smith, so that shows you how important that role was.Robert Forster, looking like a poor man's Alec Baldwin, plays Jack Waters, a middle-aged man who is a contestant on the live (on the air) game show "Road to Riches". He thinks he's going to win $50,000. He doesn't. He's so enraged he begins cursing and has to be physically restrained and led from the set. Strangely enough, despite this fact, and the fact he later destroys property--as well as making threats--he is never barred from the studio. That is just one example of the lack of believability in this film.The next character to enter the non-plot of this storyline is young Henry Fields played by Kip Pardue. Henry, new in town, is the poster child for naive yokel.Henry & Jack fall into conversation outside the studio and hook up.Jack takes Henry to a strip joint, where Henry sees Moira Kennedy(our third character--played by Rose McGowan), on stage, performing what is supposed to be an erotic, exotic Asian dance. What actually happened is, the girl came out and did a little wriggling and weaving that lasted maybe five minutes and was nothing exceptional.Moira is a friend of Jack's, so she's conveniently handy from then on.Nothing of much interest happens throughout the rest of the film. There's some kind of offer made by Dan Smith to Jack to screw over Henry for an undisclosed amount of money. Why Dan would make this offer was never clear.Eventually we have both men up for grabs by the unexceptional Moira. There's balding Jack, a loser old enough to be her grandfather, and Henry, another loser, dumber than dirt. Gosh! Golly! Gee-willikers Folks!--which one will she chose!? I know I didn't care.1 star

I think this is a great film because of the great story. It's about this girl Moira, who's a stripper. She's really insecure, and Jack, the old guy next door, helps her when she has a hard time. He first met her outside a hospital, and he felt bad for her and picked her up. Since then he's always been there for her, and suddenly he falls in love with her, but what he doesn't know is that she has feelings for him to. to make the film even more complicated, she doesn't know that he loves her, and henry, a better looking and much younger guy than jack, falls deeply in love with Moira. He gets her a job and they have a great time together. he asks her to marry him, and she doesn't know what to do ,cause her dream is to get to Mexico...

"Road to Riches" is a lightly romantic dramedy about a down-on-his-luck middle aged professional game show contestant (Forster) who harbors affection for a beautiful stripper (McGowan) and befriends a fresh-faced naive young interloper from Texas (Pardue) - a sort of poor man's Joe Buck (Midnight Cowboy) - until both men find themselves competing for the same woman. A B-flick at best, this little indie is rough around the edges showing signs of low budgetness and a lack of attention to detail with plot parts which don't dovetail well. However, when all is said and done, the film's good naturedness, poignant crescendo, and feel good conclusion make it a worthwhile watch for the couch potato in the mood for some casual small screen entertainment. (C+)