Don't You Ever Get Hungry?

Kris Kristofferson as a cop who has just gotten out of prison for pluggin' a guy out of the line of duty. Keith Carradine as a country bumpkin who goes to the big city and begins to look more and more like Billy Idol as he sinks into a life of petty crime. Lori Singer as the bumpkin's wife who longs for a better life and apparently a bearded ex-cop's hot love. Genevieve Bujold as a diner owner with a Laurie Anderson haircut and a sick love for the crazy cop. Then to top it all off, Divine (not in drag) as a sadistic crime boss who doesn't like competition from other scumbags. Shake all of this together and you get Trouble In Mind, a 1986 slightly futuristic and majorly anachronistic film by director Alan Rudolph that is surprisingly not available on DVD.

How in the hell did I come across this one? A friend found the video tape on the dollar clearance rack at Half Price Books and told me I might dig it. I know that the separate parts might seem like they wouldn't add up to an enjoyable whole, but I'm here to tell you that they do.

Former cop "Hawk" (Kristofferson) gets out of jail and goes back to his old neighborhood, where lifelong friend Wanda (Bujold) gives him a room but gets mad when he gets some lovin' from her. Coop (Carradine) and his lady Georgia (Singer) have relocated from the boonies to the scummy, depressing city in search of work. All Coop finds is a life of crime and new a new hairstyle when he meets up with a crazy, babbling criminal named Solo (Joe Morton). Meanwhile, Georgia finds Hawk wanting to get in her pants (oh, and save her from her dipshit boyfriend) and nothing but kindness from Wanda.

As Coop gets led into bigger and more dangerous crime jobs by Solo, the two become wanted men by the city's big crime boss, Hilly Blue (played by Glen Milstead, better known to fans of cinematic sickness as motherfuckin' Divine). Hawk also finds himself mixed up with Hilly, who wants to employ the ex cop cause I guess he's a badass (Oh yeah, he must be a badass because at one point he kicks the collective asses of Coop and Solo and wears black all the time).

Well, I won't give any more away in case you want to watch this thing and be surprised (which I wholeheartedly suggest you do, if you can find it), but let's just say that it gets tense by the end. I think. Mostly the movie's just kinda weird. Not weird in a David Lynch deformed-reptile-baby-vomiting-oatmeal kind of way, but in a fairly-odd-for-a-movie-starring-Kris Kristofferson kind of way. Does that make any sense? It's just got a nice atmosphere and I couldn't tell what was going to happen as the movie went along. I'll leave it at that.

But I'm not through talking about the flick. The acting by Kristofferson and Carradine isn't the best, but perhaps both actor's styles are an acquired taste. Kris is good as the slightly cliched mysterious man who has a dark side but really holds within him a heart of gold. His raspy voice fits the character well. Carradine is kind of a weirdo anyway (as are all the other actor Carradines) and to see him near the end of the movie with new-wave eyeshadow and Adam Curry hair (ok, maybe it's not that bad) is a real hoot. His acting, though, leaves a little to be desired but somehow works well in the movie. Maybe Kris balances him out.

Now I'm sure you all remember Lori Singer as Kevin Bacon's main squeeze in Footloose, but I don't remember her being that hot. Yup, she looks pretty good, even while holding a baby and pretending to be a redneck. Also looking pretty good is Coma's Genevieve Bujold, especially with the aforementioned Laurie Anderson hairdo. Her acting is pretty good as well, even with the French accent poking its nasty head out every now and then. She does justice to the brand of woman-with-a-tough-exterior-but-a-soft-marshmellow-and-unicorn-interior that these such movies usually have.

But the real kicker is seeing Divine looking like a man and trying to be butch... sort of. As far as acting goes, he does about the same job delivering his lines as he did in Female Trouble or Pink Flamingos, but just a teeny-weeny bit toned down. But not really. Granted, he's not saying things like "Kill everyone now!" or "OH MY GOD ALMIGHTY, SOMEONE HAS SENT ME A BOWEL MOVEMENT!!!" (or "Oh Mary!", for that matter), but he's still pretty damned Divine. And yeah, it's pretty damned fantastic.

Well, that pretty much sums up the movie for me. It has this strange noir-film feeling to it while also seeming like it's taking place a little bit in the future, and that's pretty neato in my book. Also, the cast makes it really bitchin'. What else can I say? Try to find it for a buck and you may consider yourself lucky. Maybe they'll put it out on DVD so that five people can buy it. I'd be number 4.