Shanghai Surprise
Shanghai Surprise is a 1986 adventure comedy film directed by Jim Goddard and starring then-newlyweds Sean Penn and Madonna. The screenplay was adapted by John Kohn and Robert Bentley from Tony Kenrick's 1978 novel Faraday's Flowers.
| Shanghai Surprise | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jim Goddard |
| Written by | John Kohn Robert Bentley |
| Based on | Faraday's Flowers novel by Tony Kenrick |
| Produced by | John Kohn |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ernie Vincze |
| Edited by | Ralph Sheldon |
| Music by | George Harrison Michael Kamen |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Columbia-Cannon-Warner Distributors (United Kingdom)[1] MGM Entertainment Co. (United States) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom United States |
| Budget | $15 million[2] |
| Box office | $2.3 million |
Produced by George Harrison's HandMade Films and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Harrison himself appeared as a night club singer, and recorded several songs for the soundtrack, including "Breath Away from Heaven", which was re-recorded and released on his 1987 album Cloud Nine along with "Someplace Else", also used in the film. The soundtrack was never officially released, and was only briefly available as a promotional single featuring the title track, coupled with "Zig Zag".[3] Both of these songs have since been released as "additional tracks" on the 2004 Cloud Nine re-release. Another track, "The Hottest Gong in Town", was included on the EP Songs by George Harrison Volume 2.
Shanghai Surprise was a critical and commercial failure.
Plot summary Edit
Glendon Wasey is a sleazy, down-on-his-luck con man struggling to sell glow-in-the-dark neckties in Shanghai. When he encounters the lovely Gloria Tatlock, a missionary nurse who wants to obtain a supply of opium to ease the suffering of her patients, he decides to help her get hold of a stolen supply of the valuable drug. The only problem is that a lot of other people want to secure the stolen opium as well—gangsters, smugglers, thugs and a host of upstanding air force recruits.
Cast Edit
- Sean Penn as Glendon Wasey
- Madonna as Gloria Tatlock
- Paul Freeman as Walter Faraday
- Richard Griffiths as Willie Tuttle
- Philip Sayer as Justin Kronk
- Clyde Kusatsu as Joe Go
- George Harrison as Night Club Singer
- Victor Wong as Ho Chong
- Lim Kay Tong as Mei Gan
Marketing Edit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in October, 1986, "The movie opened so poorly in its first wave of playdates (late August in the Northeast and Midwest) that MGM has made severe cuts in its marketing budget. One MGM exec was quoted in the trades as saying this was necessary because 'the interest in the film has been non-existent.'"[4]
Critical reception Edit
An overwhelming number of critics panned Shanghai Surprise. Bill Cosford of The Miami Herald, granting it 1 star out of 4, wrote, "In Shanghai Surprise, as you may have heard, almost everything is just a bit off. Though widely anticipated as a musical, Shanghai Surprise is actually a kind of miniaturization of Raiders of the Lost Ark / Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, with a feisty heroine (Madonna) in the vain [sic] of Rita Hayworth in The Lady From Shanghai, and a roguish adventure hero (Sean Penn) as well as a pop-sprinkled score (partly the work of George Harrison)... There's a plot here, involving Madonna's quest to find a load of hijacked opium for conversion to morphine to help the troops fighting the Japanese. Penn, though he spends his big scene panting in a brothel, will save the day. But the film was conceived and executed as a star vehicle. Wrong stars, wrong roles, not much happening here. And for George Harrison and his Handmade Films, the first big bust."[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer also gave it only 1 star: "Shanghai Surprise is so dismally scripted and directed that no one could redeem it... an atmospheric, handsomely shot and, sadly, utterly empty piece of work."[6] The Lexington Herald-Leader called it "a turkey": "This film is bad. The acting is terrible. The hackneyed screenplay traffics in stereotype and yuk-yuk jokes. And the point is non-existent."[7] The San Diego Union said, "In its campy nostalgia for old adventure films, Shanghai Surprise is cloddish. There's something rotten at the core about a movie that would recycle lines like "That's mighty white of you." Even sadder is the realization that some of the old cornball movies are still fresher, more alive, than this regurgitation."[8]
The Philadelphia Daily News faulted the casting as well as the script: "The ever-important spirit is missing as Mr. and Mrs. Penn wrestle with old gags that are beyond their ken. It's not entirely their fault though: They've been given no characters to play. Much of Shanghai Surprise might have worked if they at least were permitted to play themselves — a punk rocker and punk actor at large in an alien movie world."[9] The Chicago Sun-Times, awarding the movie half a star, complained of its "warped attitudes toward women," adding, "It's hard to know for whom this wretch of a film was made. Idiotic dialogue should turn off the adults, teens will be disappointed by their rock heroine and kids shouldn't even be watching."[10] Film professor Michal Conford, of Ryerson University, reviewed the film for the San Jose Mercury News with another half-star rating, saying sardonically, "Shanghai Surprise stars Madonna and Sean Penn together for the first time and has songs by George Harrison. That is the most positive sentence that can be written about the film, now playing locally. MGM must have suspected – the company tried to open the film in places like Iowa to avoid getting slaughtered. Nice try... The film is supposed to be a shaggy dog adventure... Shaggy, no. Dog, yes."[11]
Shanghai Surprise currently holds a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews.[12]
Awards and nominations Edit
- Won: Worst Actress - Madonna
- Nominated: Worst Picture
- Nominated: Worst Director - Jim Goddard
- Nominated: Worst Screenplay - John Kohn and Robert Bentley
- Nominated: Worst Original Song - "Shanghai Surprise"
- Nominated: Worst Actor - Sean Penn
- Nominated: Worst Picture[13]
Home media release Edit
As of 1992, Shanghai Surprise sold 100,000 home videos in the United States according to The Hollywood Reporter.[14]
See also Edit
References Edit
- ^ "Shanghai Surprise (1987)". BBFC. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Shanghai Surprise (1986)". catalog.afi.com. AFI.
- ^ Booklet included with Cloud Nine CD, released 2004.
- ^ Ringel, Eleanor (21 October 1986). "Sean Penn, Madonna flop in Shanghai Surprise". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B/3.
- ^ Cosford, Bill (20 October 1986). "This Surprise is Bad News". The Miami Herald. p. 4C.
- ^ Rickey, Carrie (19 September 1986). "Madonna Plays a Missionary, Sean Penn Sells Ties as They Pursue Opium and Each Other in Shanghai Surprise". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 8.
- ^ Roberts, Michael (4 September 1986). "Shanghai's Surprise is that it's so bad". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. D5.
- ^ Elliott, David (22 September 1986). "Shanghai isn't worth the trip". San Diego Union. p. D-1.
- ^ Baltake, Joe (19 September 1986). "Laughing with the Penns in China". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 59.
- ^ Voedisch, Lynn (1 September 1986). "Even Madonna can't save Shanghai". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 22.
- ^ Conford, Michal (20 September 1986). "Shanghai Surprise Doesn't". San Jose Mercury News. p. 1C.
- ^ "Shanghai Surprise". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ . Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 17 October 2006. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ^ "Material mogul Madonna a Maverick at Time Warner: Video". The Hollywood Reporter. 1992. Retrieved 11 July 2023 – via Google Books.
Further reading Edit
- Parish, James Robert (2006). Fiasco — A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 359 pages. ISBN 978-0-471-69159-4.
External links Edit
- Shanghai Surprise at IMDb
- Shanghai Surprise at Box Office Mojo
- Shanghai Surprise at Rotten Tomatoes