Overwiew :Harry Stone (Danny Aiello) is in quite a pickle. After a succession of box-office bombs, the film director has produced a glossy Hollywood flick about a group of plucky young teenagers and their space-traveling gherkin that is being deemed a huge hit. Ironically, the film stinks, and Harry is terrified of being considered a sellout and an artistic failure. On the eve of the movie's premiere, he returns to New York after a long sojourn in Paris to find many faces from his past waiting to descend on him--his girlfriend, agent, mother, children, grandchildren, ex-wives, and fans. As Harry lies in his Plaza Hotel suite, he indulges in cigarettes, alcohol, food, and sex, desperately trying to forget the grisly details of his past and the many personal and professional mistakes he has made along the way. While reminiscing about his Brooklyn childhood and his early creative vision, Harry is filled with mounting anxiety over his artistic dilemma. The terror of the pickle film looms on the horizon, revealed in hilarious flashbacks of the making of the movie. Segments of the film-within-the-film feature an all-star cast, including Isabella Rossellini, Ally Sheedy, Griffin Dunne, and even Little Richard as the alien president. Director Paul Mazursky satirically exposes the fickle world of filmmaking--and one man's creative vision--as Harry emotionally prepares for his premiere. The supporting cast includes Dyan Cannon as Harry's sultry ex-wife, Shelley Winters as his eccentric mother, and Chris Penn as his drug-addicted son.
rogerebert.suntimes.com - : Harry Stone, the hero of Paul Mazursky's ''The Pickle,'' was a great director once, but that was a few years ago. Now life has taken its toll. He drinks too much, smokes too much, and loves too unwisely; after a string of wives he has recently added a French mistress in her early 20s, whose faith in his aging genius even Harry believes is misdirected. more...
filmfreakcentral.net - : There are certain talented but minor directors--''second-rank,'' as opposed to ''second-rate''--who sadly manage to outlive their moment. John Frankenheimer was one of them, Alan J. Pakula another: both made key popular films of their time and then had nowhere to go once the cultural ground shifted beneath them. Add to this list the name of Paul Mazursky. Watch his 1969 comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and his 1993 summation The Pickle and you'll see two completely different people at work: one bases his work on observation and the mood of his times, and the other is so far behind the curve that his characters hardly seem human. more...
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