Alright, rewind your minds with me. Picture this: it's Friday night, you've just navigated the hallowed aisles of the local video store, maybe grabbed some questionable microwave popcorn, and now you're settling in. The tape clicks into the VCR, the tracking adjusts (mostly), and the opening credits roll for Hanky Panky (1982). What you might not have known then was that this frantic, slightly scattershot comedy-thriller was directed by none other than the legendary Sidney Poitier. Yes, that Sidney Poitier, taking a detour from prestige drama and buddy comedies into Hitchcock-lite territory.
An Accidental Architect on the Run
The setup is pure classic Hollywood mistaken identity: Gene Wilder, playing an architect named Michael Jordon (a name that hits differently now, eh?), innocently shares a cab with a woman who promptly winds up dead, leaving him holding a mysterious audio tape and framed for murder. Suddenly, our typically flustered Wilder hero is dodging bullets, shadowy government agents, and professional killers across New York City and the sun-baked landscapes of Arizona. It’s the kind of plot that feels deliberately designed to showcase Wilder’s unique brand of escalating panic, and honestly, nobody did bewildered-man-in-over-his-head quite like him.
When Gene Met Gilda (For Real)
Enter Kate Hellman, played by the effervescent Gilda Radner. She gets swept up in Michael's chaos, becoming his reluctant, quirky companion on the lam. Now, here’s where Hanky Panky gets a little extra sparkle, a bit of off-screen magic bleeding onto the celluloid. Retro Fun Fact: This film is where Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner first met and fell in love, eventually marrying in 1984. Knowing that adds a genuine warmth to their on-screen interactions. Their chemistry isn't the explosive comedic force of Wilder and Pryor, perhaps, but there's an undeniable sweetness, a fumbling charm between Wilder’s nervous energy and Radner’s off-kilter line deliveries that feels authentic, likely because it was. Columbia Pictures was undoubtedly hoping to recapture the magic (and box office!) of Stir Crazy (1980), another Wilder vehicle helmed by Poitier, but Hanky Panky is a different, gentler beast, even with the gunfire.
Action Before Algorithms
Let's talk action, because Hanky Panky certainly tries to deliver. Poitier, working with a decent budget for the era (around $13 million, which seemed like a fortune back then!), stages some ambitious sequences that feel delightfully tangible today. Remember that frantic taxi chase through Manhattan? No slick CGI extensions here – just real cars, real stunt drivers, and that slightly messy, edge-of-your-seat feeling that practical stunts delivered so well. Things really ramp up in the Arizona-set finale involving biplanes swooping dangerously close to the Grand Canyon. Retro Fun Fact: Filming those aerial sequences required incredible skill from the pilots and coordination from the crew, battling wind conditions and the sheer nerve-wracking reality of flying vintage aircraft in tight formations for the camera. It might look a little less polished than modern digital wizardry, but there’s a weight and reality to it – you feel the rickety metal and the open air in a way green screens rarely capture. Wasn't that kind of raw, slightly risky filmmaking part of the thrill back then?
A Genre Blender That Sometimes Sputters
While the chemistry between the leads is endearing and the action provides some genuine 80s thrills, the film itself is admittedly a bit uneven. The script, credited to Henry Rosenbaum and David Taylor, occasionally struggles to smoothly blend the screwball comedy with the espionage thriller elements. One minute Wilder is delivering a classic neurotic monologue, the next people are getting shot with surprising brutality. Retro Fun Fact: Gene Wilder himself reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the script later on, feeling it didn't quite live up to its potential. You can sometimes feel that slight awkwardness, a film trying to be both nail-biting and hilarious, sometimes achieving one at the expense of the other. Veteran actor Richard Widmark lends some necessary gravitas as the primary antagonist, and Kathleen Quinlan pops up in a key supporting role, but the focus remains squarely on the two leads navigating the increasingly convoluted plot.
VHS Staple Status
Despite mixed reviews upon release – critics weren't overly kind, and it wasn't the runaway smash that Stir Crazy had been – Hanky Panky found its audience on home video. It was always there on the shelf, wasn't it? That familiar cover promising laughs and adventure. It became one of those reliable weekend rentals, a comfort watch fueled by the star power of its leads and the sheer nostalgic charm of its early 80s aesthetic. It might not be high art, or even top-tier Wilder or Radner, but it possesses a certain cozy, slightly frayed appeal.
***
Rating: 6/10
Why this score? Hanky Panky earns points for the genuine spark between Wilder and Radner (knowing their real story helps), some genuinely fun practical action sequences that represent the era well, and Sidney Poitier's unexpected foray into the genre. It loses points for an uneven script that sometimes clumsily mixes tones and a plot that feels a bit thin. It's more charming than consistently thrilling or hilarious, but the charm is considerable.
Final Take: A quintessential early 80s video store find – slightly goofy, occasionally exciting, and powered by two beloved stars falling in love right before our eyes. Perfect for when you crave that specific blend of analog action and gentle comedy that feels beamed straight from a well-worn VHS tape.