In this comedy based on a play by Herb Gardner, a zany, disparate couple tries to beat the odds and stay together. The man runs a posh private school and cannot see why his lover prefers teaching in the Lower East Side where they were raised. The two temporarily split, and each of them has an affair. The experience teaches them that they are meant to be together. Unfortunately, when the humbled two return to their luxurious apartment, they again begin arguing. In the heat of anger, the man grabs the gun her father gave him and fires three shots into the ceiling. With the police sirens encroaching, the woman realizes that inside, he is still the wild and crazy guy she fell for years before, and romantic bliss ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
disliked it.
Thieves was written by (and based on a play by) Herb Gardner, a writer who can be enormously funny but whose characters and plots often feel contrived and artificial. In Thieves, that contrivance and artificiality are in full bloom, but the humor withers on the vine. There are some good moments, most of them resulting from quirky incidences involving minor characters, such as an eternally sleeping doorman who turns out to be dead; indeed, the supporting characters as a whole come of better than the leads who are the backbone of the piece. That's because Gardner has a gift for sketching in an interesting character but not fleshing it out, which works when a character only has a few minutes of screen time, but not when he or she dominates the movie. This is especially true of Sally, the character played by
Marlo Thomas, who is supposed to be one of those zany free-spirited people whose love of life and warm humanity make them adorable and appealing. Thomas tries hard, but Sally is simply unbelievable and annoying. At least the actress gives her some spark;
Charles Grodin is deadly dull as her dull opposite number. Matters aren't helped by the uninspired direction of
John Berry and Albert T. Viola. As mentioned, the supporting players are worth a glance, especially
Hector Elizondo, but most of Thieves is disappointing. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide