I liked this enough when it came out that I remembered it as an underrated, quality Hollywood film.

Now, watching it nearly 30 years later, the first half is a terrible slog - so derivative and predictable in both narrative and character. But damn if the second half doesn't still get me, particularly with the performances of Eli Wallach and David Keith. It's effective in its buck-the-system, do the right thing gusto, and the leads are likable enough, even if…

Top 5 performances in this film:
5 - Dave Chappelle. A fine performance in a surprise role.
4 - Dice. Even more than BLUE JASMINE, growing into these roles...
3 - Gaga. The performance scenes were fantastic and half of the rest of the time I thought she was a natural. It was the other half where I thought to myself, "oh, she's never done this before..."
2 - Bradley Cooper. Really well modulated. Great rapport with the director. The…