Bolero (1984 film)

Last updated

Bolero
Boleroposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Derek
Written byJohn Derek
Produced by Bo Derek
Starring
CinematographyJohn Derek
Edited by
  • Sophie Bhaud
  • Hughes Damois
Music by Peter Bernstein
Production
company
City Films
Distributed by Cannon Film Distributors
Release date
  • August 31, 1984 (1984-08-31)
Running time
104 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million [2]
Box office$8.9 million [3]

Bolero is a 1984 American romantic drama film written and directed by John Derek and starring Bo Derek. [4] The film centers on the protagonist's sexual awakening and her journey around the world to pursue an ideal first lover who will take her virginity.

Contents

A box office flop, the film was critically panned, earning nominations for nine Golden Raspberry Awards at the 5th Golden Raspberry Awards and "winning" six, including the Worst Picture.

Plot

Set in the 1920s, Ayre "Mac" MacGillvary is a virginal 23-year-old young American who graduates from an exclusive British college. An orphan heiress to a vast fortune, Ayre is determined to find the right man for her first sexual encounter wherever he might be in the world. Rich enough not to venture forth alone, she brings along her best friend Catalina and the family chauffeur Cotton.

Ayre first travels to Morocco where she meets an ideal lover, an Arab sheik who offers to deflower her. He takes her away in his private airplane to an oasis in the desert, but during foreplay, while rubbing her nude body with honey, he falls asleep almost immediately. Giving up on the sheik, Ayre goes on to Spain, where she meets the toreador Angel, and sets out to seduce him. Into this group comes Paloma, a 14-year-old local Gypsy girl whom Ayre and Catalina take under their wing. A minor subplot involves Catalina meeting and pursuing Ayre's lawyer, Robert Stewart, a kilt-wearing Scotsman whom Catalina chooses to deflower her.

After several days of courtship and flirting, Angel makes love to Ayre one morning and he manages to stay awake. Unfortunately, after Ayre has succeeded in her quest to lose her virginity, Angel is gored while bullfighting the next day.

The injury leaves Angel unable to perform in the bedroom, and so Ayre makes it her mission in life to see to his recovery. Along the way, she takes up bullfighting herself as a way of getting her despondent lover motivated to stop moping. During this, the Arab sheik flies to Spain to abduct Ayre, but she manages to convince him that she has already lost her virginity and he lets her go.

Eventually, Ayre is successful in aiding Angel to full recovery which leads to a climactic lovemaking session between them. Finally, Ayre and Angel get married at a local church.

Cast

Production and release

Executive producer and Cannon Films co-head Menahem Golan urged the Dereks to make the sex scenes more explicit, despite the pair's objections that the scenes were strong enough. The film was to be distributed by MGM as part of an ongoing deal with Cannon, and Bo Derek screened the film for MGM's then-CEO Frank Yablans, hoping that he would intervene with Golan on the matter of the erotic content. Yablans disliked the film as much as all the other films Cannon was delivering to MGM. [5]

When the producers refused to cut the film to avoid an X rating from the MPAA, MGM dropped the film due to standards policies, and Cannon released Bolero themselves. [6] The quality of Bolero and the other Cannon/MGM films led to Yablans using a breach of contract clause to terminate the distribution deal with Cannon in November 1984. [5] Bolero was ultimately released with no MPAA rating, with a disclaimer on ads that no children under 17 would be admitted to the film. Many theater chains that normally refused to screen X-rated films also refused to screen Bolero. [6]

The film is officially on DVD with an "R" rating with no cuts.

Olivia d'Abo, who had a nude scene, was 14 during filming. "I matured physically at 13. When I did Bolero with Bo and John Derek, John thought I had implants. But I know I look young and innocent, which helps me get roles," she said. [7]

Reception

Box office

The film earned about $8.9 million in American ticket sales [3] against a $7 million production budget. [8]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 0% based on 23 reviews and an average rating of 1.43/10. The website's consensus reads, "Bolero combines a ludicrous storyline and wildly mismatched cast in its desperate attempts to titillate, but only succeeds in arousing boredom". [9] Metacritic reports a score of 13/100 based on nine critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". [10] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave Bolero a rare grade of "F" on an A+ to F scale, making it the first of only 22 films that are known to have received this grade, [11] and the only film to date to receive both a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score and an F from CinemaScore.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film ½ out of four stars, writing: "The real future of Bolero is in home cassette rentals, where your fast forward and instant replay controls will supply the editing job the movie so desperately needs". [12] David Robinson of The Times said that the story was "the authentic stuff of mild pornography", and wrote that the film's climax "No doubt ... distracted the writer-director from the dialogue, which is in every sense unspeakable." [13]

David Richards of The Washington Post wrote: "Bad as Bolero is, it is unfortunately not bad enough. Seekers of inadvertent high-camp hilarity will be as let down as those who are suckered in by the promise of Bo's golden flesh". [14] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the plot "sounds like that of a straight porn film, which is what Bolero would have become with anyone other than John Derek directing", and criticized the dialogue as "tending to sound like very bad pulp romance". [15] David Sterritt of The Christian Science Monitor wrote: "This tedious romance ... is a strong candidate for worst picture of the year". [16]

Accolades

It was nominated for nine Golden Raspberry Awards and won six, including "Worst Picture", "Worst Actress," "Worst Director", and "Worst Screenplay". [17] In 1990, the film was nominated for the Razzie Award for "Worst Picture of the Decade", but lost to Mommie Dearest . [18] Also in 1984, the film was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture. [19]

Home media

In 1985, U.S.A. Home Video released Bolero in both unrated and R-rated versions for the video rental marketplace. In 2005, MGM Home Entertainment released Bolero on DVD, after the rights to the majority of Cannon Film productions reverted to MGM.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Raspberry Awards</span> Awards presented in recognition of the worst in film

The Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzie Awards' satirical annual ceremony is preceded by its opposite, the Academy Awards, by four decades. The term raspberry is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The statuette is a golf ball-sized raspberry atop a Super 8mm film reel atop a 35-millimeter film core with brown wood shelf paper glued and wrapped around it—sitting atop a jar lid spray-painted gold. The Golden Raspberry Foundation has claimed that the award "encourages well-known filmmakers and top-notch performers to own their bad."

The 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 29, 1982, at an Oscar night potluck party to recognize the worst the film industry had to offer in 1981.

<i>From Justin to Kelly</i> 2003 film by Robert Iscove

From Justin to Kelly is a 2003 American musical romantic comedy film, written by Kim Fuller and directed by Robert Iscove. The movie features Kelly Clarkson, the winner of the first season of American Idol, and Justin Guarini, the runner-up. In 2005, the film was a critical and commercial failure and received the Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst 'Musical' of Our First 25 Years." It has gained a reputation as one of the worst movies ever made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Derek</span> American actress

Bo Derek is an American actress and model. She is best known for her breakout role in the romantic comedy film 10 (1979). Her other credits include Richard Lang's A Change of Seasons (1980) and the ill-fated films Fantasies, Tarzan, the Ape Man, Bolero (1984), and Ghosts Can't Do It (1989), all four of which were directed by her first husband, John Derek. Widowed in 1998, she married actor John Corbett in 2020.

The 11th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 24, 1991, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1990.

<i>Leonard Part 6</i> 1987 film by Paul Weiland

Leonard Part 6 is a 1987 American spy parody film. It was directed by Paul Weiland and starred Bill Cosby, who also produced the film and wrote its story. The film also starred Gloria Foster as the villain, and Joe Don Baker. The film was shot in the San Francisco Bay Area. It earned several Golden Raspberry Awards; Cosby himself denounced and disowned it in the press in the weeks leading up to its release.

<i>Two of a Kind</i> (1983 film) 1983 film by John Herzfeld

Two of a Kind is a 1983 American romantic fantasy crime comedy-drama film directed by John Herzfeld and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. The film reunited Travolta and Newton-John who had appeared together in 1978's Grease. The original musical score was composed by Patrick Williams. Travolta plays a cash-strapped inventor while Newton-John plays the bank teller whom he attempts to rob. They must come to show compassion for one another in order to delay God's judgment upon the Earth. Despite being a critical failure, the film's soundtrack was a commercial success, yielding three hit singles for Newton-John and being certified Platinum.

<i>Harum Scarum</i> (film) 1965 film by Gene Nelson

Harum Scarum is a 1965 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was shot on the original Cecil B. DeMille set from the film The King of Kings, with additional footage shot on location at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Some of the film was based on Rudolph Valentino's 1921 movie The Sheik.

<i>Tarzan, the Ape Man</i> (1981 film) 1981 film directed by John Derek

Tarzan, the Ape Man is a 1981 American adventure film directed by John Derek and starring Bo Derek, Miles O'Keeffe, Richard Harris, and John Phillip Law. The screenplay by Tom Rowe and Gary Goddard is loosely based on the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but from the point of view of Jane Parker.

<i>Basic Instinct 2</i> 2006 film by Michael Caton-Jones

Basic Instinct 2 is a 2006 erotic thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels, and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by Leora Barish and Henry Bean. It stars Sharon Stone, who reprises her role of crime mystery author Catherine Tramell, and David Morrissey. The film is an international co-production of German, British, American, and Spanish production companies.

<i>The Specialist</i> 1994 film by Luis Llosa

The Specialist is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Luis Llosa and starring Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Eric Roberts, and Rod Steiger. It is loosely based on "The Specialist" series of novels by John Shirley. The film was met with negative critical response, but became a box office success, and Gloria Estefan's version of "Turn the Beat Around" became a dance sensation, becoming #1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.

<i>Ghosts Cant Do It</i> 1989 film by John Derek

Ghosts Can't Do It is a 1989 romantic fantasy comedy film, the last film written and directed by John Derek, and starring Bo Derek and Anthony Quinn, with Julie Newmar and Leo Damian in supporting roles.

The Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture is a prize at the annual Razzies to the worst film of the past year. Over the 39 ceremonies that have taken place, 202 films have been nominated for Worst Picture, with three ties resulting in 42 winners.

<i>The Lonely Lady</i> 1983 film by Peter Sasdy

The Lonely Lady is a 1983 American drama film directed by Peter Sasdy, adapted from Harold Robbins' 1976 novel of the same name, believed to have been based on Robbins' memories of Jacqueline Susann. The film stars Pia Zadora in the title role, Lloyd Bochner, Bibi Besch, Jared Martin and Ray Liotta in his film debut. The original music score was composed by Charlie Calello.

<i>Dirty Love</i> (film) 2005 film by John Mallory Asher

Dirty Love is a 2005 American romantic comedy film written by and starring Jenny McCarthy and directed by John Mallory Asher. At the time of filming, McCarthy and Asher were married; they divorced the month the film was released. Playing heavily off McCarthy's reputation for toilet humor, the film received negative reviews from critics and received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture, as well as Worst Screenplay, Worst Director, and Worst Actress for McCarthy.

The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards was a Los Angeles–based group of film buffs and film critics devoted to honoring the worst films of the year.

<i>The Official Razzie Movie Guide</i> 2005 book by John J. B. Wilson

The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst is a 2005 book about the booby prize award show the Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), written by John J. B. Wilson, founder of the awards ceremony. The book was published in 2005 by Warner Books, the same year as the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards.

The 10th Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1988 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 1987. As follows, there was only a Worst Picture category with provided commentary for each nominee, as well as a list of films that were also considered for the final list but ultimately failed to make the cut.

The 1978 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1979 to honour the worst the film industry had to offer in 1978. The ballot was later revisited and the expanded version was released in the summer of 2003. Listed as follows are the original ballot's picks for Worst Picture and its dishonourable mentions, which are films that were considered for Worst Picture but ultimately failed to make the final ballot, and all nominees included in the expanded ballot. All winners are highlighted.

References

  1. "Bolero (18)". British Board of Film Classification . August 3, 1984. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  2. Fordy, Tom (June 11, 2020). "The perfect sex symbol? Bo Derek and the legacy of 10". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Bolero at Box Office Mojo
  4. "Bolero". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Hartley, Mark (2014). Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (Motion Picture). RatPac-Dune Entertainment.
  6. 1 2 Haller, Scot (September 3, 1984). "With the Help of Her Husband, Bo Derek Beds Down in a New Role: Madame X." People (Vol. 22, No. 10).
  7. "Actress, 17, Believes Youth Suits Teen Roles". Chicago Tribune . August 28, 1986. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  8. "Bolero (1984) - Box office / business". Internet Movie Database . Amazon.com . Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  9. "Bolero (1984)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  10. "Bolero Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  11. "Making the Grade with Filmgoers". Orlando Sentinel. December 4, 1992. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1984). "Bolero". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved May 5, 2022 via RogerEbert.com.
  13. Robinson, David (October 26, 1984). "Consistently Intriguing". The Times . p. 13. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  14. Richards, David (September 3, 1984). "Boring Bo-Baring 'Bolero'". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  15. Maslin, Janet (September 1, 1984). "FILM: BO DEREK IN 'BOLERO'". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  16. Sterritt, David (September 20, 1984). "MOVIE GUIDE". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  17. "1984 Razzie Awards Winners and Nominees". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  18. "10th Annual Razzie Awards: Special Worst of the Decade Awards for the 1980s". Razzies.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  19. "1984 7th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
Awards
Preceded by Razzie Award for Worst Picture
5th Golden Raspberry Awards
Succeeded by