Where to watch Amos & Andrew
2 1/2 Stars
When Andrew Sterling, a successful black urbanite writer, buys a vacation house at a resort in New England, the police mistake him for a burglar. After surrounding his house with armed men, Chief Tolliver realizes his mistake, and to avoid the bad publicity, offers Amos Odell, a thief in his jail, a deal. Amos is to pretend to take Andrew prisoner and hold him for ransom, but let him go and escape. Amos and Andrew suddenly realize that the Chief’s problems are all gone if the two of them both die in a gun battle. The worst partnership in film history then tries to get away from the local police.
Amos & Andrew is a satirical look at serious subjects: mistaken identity, race relations, classism, and the snobbish behavior of East Coasters. Nicolas Cage and Samuel L. Jackson, before they became Oscar contenders, co-star in this low-key comedy, which is lifted by them and supporting players like Dabney Coleman and Michael Lerner.
This movie is the forgotten entry in Cage’s comedy era. It is better than Trapped in Paradise and on par with It Could Happen to You and Guarding Tess, though Honeymoon in Vegas is much better and more profitable. It is peculiar that the only film Jackson and Cage, both extremely prolific, made together was an overlooked early-’90s box-office bomb.
Amos & Andrew isn’t clever or funny enough to get a full recommendation, but it’s also not the calamity it could have been. There is no chance this movie could have been produced by a studio today, which makes it a relic worth seeking out for that fact alone. As a fan of both Cage and Jackson, I enjoyed the movie on a surface level. Watching pros turn this lightweight material into something substantial is a joy to behold, but the uninitiated may not find this movie amusing.
Directed by: E. Max Frye
Written by: E. Max Frye
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Lerner