The Woman Chaser – Review

Based on a novel that I have questions about, The Woman Chaser is a quirky and oddball comedy full of offbeat jokes and silly moments. Both charming and off-putting, the actors all play it straight which adds to plenty of the humor and creates some ridiculous dynamics for the characters. It runs fairly quickly and covers both used cars and movie making. Intrigued? Check it out…

As Richard Hudson (Warburton) sits in a tuxedo and wears sunglasses inside, he quips with passers by and projects his confidence. It is the 1960s, and San Francisco. He makes a deal with an elderly lady collecting for charity. Where will this lead?? Not where one may expect…

He begins again now narrating to the viewer. He will offer a sequence of events, some in order, some not, and hopefully along the way we will all discover just what it was that happened to this man. He begins at the 2200 block of Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. Richard clocks traffic, counting cars and loving a location of a used car lot. He buys it. He hires a manager, William Harris, or Bill (Morgan).

The thing is… Richard is bored. His interest however is sparked when he remembers his mother remarried to a film exec named Leo Steinberg (Malevich).  They form a strange friendship and begin watching movies, which leads to a script idea. Maybe Richard can find a way to make a movie?!

The Woman Chaser has some awkward moments and shock jokes to go along with its atmosphere of philandering and comedic observations. It is presented in black and white which drives home the 60s setting, and it winds up being an odd but loving look at movies and writing as well as a touch of scheming and plotting.

The comedy won’t land with everyone but the performances are fairly strong considering the offbeat material presented. The cast is not all that recognizable, yet this does not hold anything back. Wooden acting almost enhances the characteristics of the dialogue. None of the characters are all that likeable, which could be another turn off, yet they fit into Hollywood just fine. Warburton shines all around in this role and makes for a strange but enthralling protagonist.

There is a bit of a hypnotic flow to its presentation and the director handled the tough to nail material perfectly. Whether you like it all is a separate question, but I definitely had an okay experience.

“As long as he gets his checks every month, he won’t investigate what I’m doing with his working capital.”

There is an alternate/original cut of this film which is in color, features the title “The Art of Insanity,” and includes a few more minutes of footage. This footage however does include a controversial scene that was in the original novel, but is darker than the rest of the film. I would probably go with the theatrical version first.