Cadillac Man

Robin Williams' role here as ruthless, womanising auto-salesman Joey O'Brien seems at first ideally suited to his motormouth persona. When the company secretary's jealous, machine gun-toting husband Larry (Robbins) roars into the showroom, takes everyone hostage, and demands to know the identity of his wife's lover, Joey's quick-fire patter undergoes the ultimate road test: as a SWAT team, TV crews and spectators gather outside, he tries to stop Larry shooting or blowing up the hostages. To his credit, Robbins more than holds his own, his credibly unhinged husband alternating between frustrated ranting, nervy panic and childlike vulnerability. Very soon, however, the film swerves violently into overpitched farce, then plummets into irksome, Good Morning, Vietnam-style sentimentality. While he's lying through his teeth or improvising a sales pitch that might save his skin, Williams is funny and convincing; but once he starts getting dewy-eyed and sincere, flesh-crawling embarrassment takes over.