FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

SimonJack Something is missing in "The Hot Rock" that keeps it from being a great film. Perhaps several smaller things together keep it from being a top caper comedy. It surely is of that genre, but the comedy is quite weak. A sometimes funny script saves is from being a bomb. The idea for the plot is a superb one. Jewel thieves have to steal the same prize diamond again and again. The schemes to do so are entertaining. But the comedy in those situations seems forced. An example is when the gang attacks a neighborhood police precinct to retrieve the jewel from a jail cell. The various police characters were all set up in comedic roles from the start. So, that's a forced comedy situation that comes off more as a satire or parody of the New York police department than a clever and humorous attempted heist at a police precinct building. And as a parody, it's just not funny. Robert Redford's character, Dortmunder, seems an awful lot like Johnny Hooker in "The Sting." But this film plot is far from that of the next year's film. And, the far laid back, easy-going character that Redford has here just doesn't seem to fit the plot very well. The best roles in the film are played by George Segal as Kelp and Paul Sand as Greenberg. They also are the source of most of the comedy. The film had great possibilities, but it comes off as more lame and silly than as very good comedy as a caper. It's worth a watch, but not the price to buy or rent it. But for some occasional funny lines, "The Hot Rock" would be a washout.Here are a few good lines from the film. For more funny lines, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie.Dortmunder, "You're not being pushy?" Kelp, "I'm just edging you towards making a decision. There's a difference." Kelp, "You take failure too hard. I don't mind it so much anymore." Dr. Amusa, "I've heard of the habitual criminal, of course. But I never dreamed I'd become involved with the habitual crime."Greenberg (to his dad, Abe Greenberg, who has just sold out his son's gang), "Don't expect me for any more Sunday drives, dad."

SnoopyStyle Dortmunder (Robert Redford) just left prison and vows to not do another job. He's wrangled immediately by his sister's man Kelp (George Segal) to do a job. Dr. Amusa (Moses Gunn) is paying for the heist who claims the gem was stolen from the African people.The heist isn't sophisticated. There is a lot of Keystone Cops elements in this movie. It's cute bordering on funny. Dortmunder's frustration with Kelp's constant prodding is kind of funny. George Segal, Robert Redford, Paul Sand, and Ron Leibman make for the perfect antidote to the Ocean's movies. These guys make up for the lack of cool with an abundance of bumbling determination. Zero Mostel makes an appearance as Paul Sand's lawyer father. He has a bit fun. The movie is a bit of fun action from the early 70s.

peter-patti Okay okay, Westlake's novels are always much better than the respective movies (take for example "What's the Worst that Could Happen"), but I must admit that director Peter Yates did a really good job. Dortmunder (the author was inspired to this name by the German beer!) is not much like Donald Westlake's original in the Dortmunder books, along with some of the other characters. Redford is too handsome. George C. Scott in "Bank Shot" was much more Dortmunderish (Westlake's master-crook John Archibald Dortmunder is worn down and pessimistic), but in the "Hot Rock" movie Yates catches the 'Zeitgeist', or spirit of the times. And that's enough.Brilliant: Quincy Jones' soundtrack (with Gerry Mulligan playing the sax).

tjnugent I saw this movie in its original theatrical release and have seen it again many times since. It is one of the funniest movies ever made. The script, the performances, the direction, and production are all outstanding. Redford's performance is as good as if not better than his efforts in Butch Cassidy and The Sting. Zero Mostel is as always delightful. The soundtrack, hip and jazzy, is perfect. What's not to like? A true gem of a comedy/drama. The high point of virtually all careers involved. Thanks to this review, I have learned that the movie's script was based on a novel, one of a series of novels, which I plan on reading.