The Man with One Red Shoe

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Release Date: July 19, 1985

4.5	USER SCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 4 Ratings

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FilipeNetoApr 27, 2020

This light comedy film is another of Tom Hanks' early career films. He gives life to a totally normal guy who is randomly chosen to be watched by the CIA as a spy because of an internal rivalry within the agency .

The biggest problem withThis light comedy film is another of Tom Hanks' early career films. He gives life to a totally normal guy who is randomly chosen to be watched by the CIA as a spy because of an internal rivalry within the agency .

The biggest problem with this film is the very exaggerated and improbable script. Halfway through the film, I had already forgotten the issue that gave rise to everything, the Senate audit and internal CIA rivalries. It is simply too complicated for a light film like this, and makes everything else look totally silly, with professional secret agents watching over the life of a totally normal guy without anyone realizing that there was absolutely nothing special about him. I understand that this is also part of the comedy, with all its nonsense, but I think it didn't work well.

The only good thing about this film is Hanks good performance, still far from fame and acclaim, but also relatively raw in his acting. Beside him, Lori Singer gave a good support and Jim Belushi is good at comedy, but everything else is darkened behind the work of the three actors that I highlighted here.… Expand

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DawdlingPoetNov 28, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a comedy spy/crime film, featuring themes including surveillance and undercover intelligence. The first thing I'd like to say is that it isn't a film which seems to take itself particularly seriously - I felt the main character of Richard came across as somewhat exaggerated, being a bit geeky perhaps and the term slapstick came to mind. Having said that, its not as extreme as, say, the Mask in the film The Mask - Hanks is no Jim Carrey (Sorry Tom, though thats not necessarily a bad thing).

The plot seemed quite far fetched but it certainly does have its funny moments. Another word, or term, that came to mind was quirky - thats not specifically referring to Richard but probably moreso the undercover agents secretly tracking him and having to guess why he does what he does and having to (often wrongly) interpret the strange things they hear. There is certainly an element of incompetence brought across and I found it quite amusing, in terms of the very much official people being stumped by what they were seeing and hearing and the way they respond to things which makes them seem less than the brilliant professionals they appear to be. Its definitely a spoof of the spy/crime sub-genres and as such its a relatively pleasant watch, although I felt it was a shame it didn't provide more in the way of character development or background and also the plot felt a little 'fuzzy', that is to say not entirely clear. Its quite silly, a bit of fun and definitely amusing at times but overall I'm not sure I'd say it was great or, indeed, awful - its a pretty average 1980s (it was released in 1985) crime/action/comedy film really. Its not a film in which you have to have your wits about you and if you look away for a few moments you'll miss something but then I felt that the main plot was only roughly hinted at, in a sense, so maybe thats not such a good thing?. Its certainly somewhat entertaining but its hardly memorable.

Cast wise, Tom Hanks plays Richard. He plays the role of a seemingly average, run of the mill young(ish) adult, a slightly naive type although we learn that Richard isn't entirely what he seems. He does seem relatively clueless about things though, which makes for amusing moments during key scenes, so I suppose he plays his part well. Other cast members include Carrie Fisher as Paula, Jim Belushi as Morris and Lori Singer as Maddy. The cast are all relatively good at their parts, although I wouldn't say that any of them stood out as being outstanding or anything quite like that.

Music plays an important part in this film and is often classical in nature - it helps to raise the tension in certain scenes, as is often the case. There were times when I felt like it was relatively good at creatin a 'cat vs mouse' type tension or atmosphere, although I wouldn't say that its especially edge of your seat type thrilling either. Its a slightly hard film to review, I feel, as it seemed pretty average to me for the most part. Content wise, the film features sex references, mild violence and some strong language plus a scene featuring class A drugs, hence its 15 rating.

The film uses a number of cliches, some somewhat sexist, with one of a woman rushing in slow motion, a la Baywatch - you may find these amusing or a bit crass perhaps. There is a definite element of absurdity, in case you haven't already guessed. As I say, I thought it was relatively entertaining, particularly in the last half hour but I certainly wouldn't rush out to see it as such.

Unsurprisingly, no I wouldn't especially recommend it. It isn't without its laughs and its an easy watch but it felt a bit watered down and I wish there was a bit more detail given, in terms of Richards character development, his background and so on. It wasn't an unenjoyable watch but it felt distinctly average to me overall, so I'd say its worth watching if it comes on TV and it interests you perhaps but otherwise its not really worth spending money to see I reckon.… Expand

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