April 'Nick's Pix:' ISHTAR

Join me for Ishtar, a very Special Nick's Pix Screening on Wednesday, April 9, at 7 p.m. in Oak Park! Tickets are only $9 ($7 for seniors!) Get your tix HERE!

I am unbelievably excited to be hosting a screening of the notorious comedy Ishtar. It is one of my favorite comedies of the 1980s and a delightfully silly night at the movies. It also has an incredible history, a fascinating behind-the-scenes story, and a legacy that the majority of big movie releases just don't have.

There are a few movies in Hollywood history whose titles have become synonymous with disaster. Ishtar is one of them. Released in 1987, Elaine May's adventure comedy starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman was plagued with production nightmares, budget overruns, studio drama, and some of the worst pre-release buzz any film had ever received.

When it finally hit theaters, it bombed catastrophically, and critics piled on, labeling it one of the worst movies ever. But is Ishtar really that bad? (The answer is NO; in fact, it's great) Or is it a case of Hollywood politics, gender bias, and a media narrative that spun out of control? (The answer is YES, as you will discover)

Looking at its history, reception, and reappraisal in the decades since Ishtar is far more than just a notorious flop—it's a fascinating case study in industry hypocrisy and the fragility of reputations in the film business.

The Road to Ishtar

Ishtar was the brainchild of Elaine May, a brilliant comic mind known for her work with Mike Nichols in the 1950s and later as a writer-director in Hollywood. Despite her talents, her directing career had been tumultuous.

She was difficult in the editing room, often clashing with studios, and after her last film, Mikey and Nicky, which went way over budget, she had trouble securing directing gigs. But Warren Beatty, one of Hollywood's most influential stars, owed her big.

Many refer to the extraordinary Elaine May as "the best director you've never heard of."

May had done major uncredited work on his Oscar-winning Reds and wanted to return the favor. He promised to protect her, producing Ishtar and casting himself and his friend Dustin Hoffman in the lead roles. Hoffman, too, owed May big time because she had done major rewrites (again, uncredited) on Tootsie.

The idea was simple: a throwback to the Road to... movies of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, with Beatty and Hoffman playing talentless songwriters who get caught in Cold War intrigue in the fictional country of Ishtar.

May thought it would be funny to cast Beatty, usually the suave leading man, as the bumbling idiot of the duo, with Hoffman playing the more self-assured role. Everyone involved knew the script needed work, but with these names attached, Columbia Pictures jumped at the chance.

It didn't hurt that Columbia's parent company, Coca-Cola, had money tied up in Morocco, making the Middle Eastern setting a convenient tax write-off.

Chaos in the Desert

Then the trouble started.

May insisted on shooting in the actual Sahara Desert rather than in the controlled environments of California or Arizona. The Moroccan government was at war with local guerrillas, land mines had to be cleared from locations, and security was a constant concern.

The extreme heat and conditions were brutal on the cast and crew, and May—who had never directed an action-adventure film—struggled with the logistics. She clashed with legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro over camera placements, sparred with Beatty over control, and infamously spent ten days leveling a sand dune only to decide she didn't want dunes at all.

By the time the production wrapped, the budget had ballooned to $51 million, a staggering sum for a comedy in the mid-1980s. The media, already circling due to reports of tension on set, smelled blood in the water. Ishtar was labeled a disaster before it even reached theaters.

The Release and Immediate Backlash

The negative press torpedoed the film before audiences could make up their minds. The narrative was set: Ishtar was a colossal misfire. Critics, many of whom seemed eager to take down Beatty and Hoffman—two notoriously perfectionist, high-maintenance stars—ripped it apart.

Roger Ebert called it "a truly dreadful film," and Gene Siskel called it "shockingly dull." It became a punchline overnight. A Gary Larson Far Side cartoon depicted Hell's Video Store, stocked only with copies of Ishtar.

It was an undeniable box office failure. Despite opening at No. 1, it grossed only $14.3 million against its massive budget. Already in turmoil, Columbia Pictures was sold to Sony soon after, and Ishtar became an industry-wide cautionary tale.

The Gendered Fallout

Here's where things get infuriating. Warren Beatty, who had produced and starred in the film, went on to direct Dick Tracy and continue his successful career. Dustin Hoffman, though shaken by the experience, kept working steadily (he also appeared in Dick Tracy).

But Elaine May? Her directing career was over.

Hollywood has a long history of forgiving male directors for expensive flops (Heaven's Gate and The Last Action Hero come to mind), but a woman making an ambitious misfire? That was unforgivable.

May was effectively blacklisted as a director, despite the fact that her script was solid and the film's problems were more about budget excess and studio interference than incompetence.

She continued working as a writer, penning The Birdcage and Primary Colors, but she never got another shot at directing. It was a brutal, sexist double standard that robbed cinema of one of its most unique voices.

The Reappraisal

But here's the thing: Ishtar isn't a terrible movie; in fact, it's pretty damned terrific.

Is it a mess? Absolutely. The pacing is erratic, and a few gags fall flat. But it's also full of great comedic moments, particularly in the first half, when Beatty and Hoffman's terrible songwriting dreams are at the center.

The songs, written by the brilliant Paul Williams, are intentionally awful in a hilarious way, and they are some of the funniest songs in movie history.

From 2011: Me and the great Paul Williams, who wrote the hilarious songs for Ishtar.

I interviewed Paul Williams on my radio show about 15 years ago. We spent a large part of the interview talking about his stellar work on Ishtar, and he is incredibly proud of his hilarious contributions.

Charles Grodin is fantastic as a CIA agent caught up in the absurdity. Jack Weston is an absolute riot, and Isabelle Adjani is gorgeous and funny. Heck, even the action scenes have a certain chaotic charm.

Over the years, filmmakers and critics have defended Ishtar. Martin Scorsese has called it one of his favorite films, and Quentin Tarantino, Edgar Wright, and Lena Dunham have praised its humor.

In 2013, it was finally released on Blu-ray in North America, and a new generation of cinephiles wondered: Was Ishtar really that bad, or was it just the victim of an industry hit job?

Final Thoughts

In the grand scheme of things, Ishtar deserved better. It wasn't the debacle it was made out to be, but it became an easy target in an industry that loves a good train wreck.

Its failure unfairly derailed Elaine May's directing career, while its male stars walked away relatively unscathed. Yet, over time, it has found new appreciation as a weird, flawed, but genuinely funny film that dared to do something different.

So, is Ishtar one of the worst films ever made? Absolutely not. It's not even close. It's a fascinating, ridiculously amusing comedy that I adore. It has huge quantities of great moments buried under bad decisions and an even worse reputation.

If anything, its real legacy isn't as a box office bomb but as a cautionary tale about how Hollywood treats its filmmakers—especially women—when a gamble doesn't pay off.

April Nick's Pix

So, I am very excited (and PROUD) to be showing this film to you as my next Classic Cinemas' Nick's Pix' Screening:

Date: Wednesday, April 9

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Lake Theater, Oak Park

Tickets: Get them NOW!

I will introduce Ishtar and talk a bit about the movie, and we will watch the 4K restoration on the big screen together. Afterward, I will lead a fun discussion, play some trivia, and give away some terrific prizes, including t-shirts, movie passes, and more.

I can't wait to see you there!

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