O.C. and Stiggs
| O.C. and Stiggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Robert Altman |
| Produced by |
Robert Altman Peter Newman |
| Written by |
Ted Mann (screenplay) Donald Cantrell (screenplay) Tod Carroll (stories)[1] |
| Starring | |
| Music by | King Sunny Adé |
| Cinematography | Pierre Mignot |
| Edited by | Elizabeth Kling |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Entertainment Co. |
Release dates |
1985
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7,000,000 (est.) |
O.C. and Stiggs is a 1987 American teen comedy film directed by Robert Altman, based on two characters that were originally featured in a series of stories published in National Lampoon magazine.[1] The film stars Daniel H. Jenkins and Neill Barry as the title characters. Other members of the cast include Paul Dooley, Jane Curtin, Martin Mull, Dennis Hopper, Ray Walston, Louis Nye, Melvin Van Peebles, Tina Louise, Cynthia Nixon, Jon Cryer and Bob Uecker.
The film, a raunchy teen comedy described by the British Film Institute as "probably Altman's least successful film," was shot in 1983, but not released until long after post-production was completed. MGM shelved it for a couple of years, finally giving it a limited theatrical release in 1987 and 1988.
Plot summary
O.C. & Stiggs is the adventure of two Arizona teenagers. In their car, the Gila Monster, they pick up slags (loose women), torture their nemesis, Randall Schwab, while procuring liquor from "Wino Bob" (a bum who lives in the oleander bushes behind the 7-Eleven).
Cast
- Daniel H. Jenkins as Oliver Cromwell "O.C." Oglivie
- Neill Barry as Mark Stiggs
- Jane Curtin as Elinore Schwab
- Paul Dooley as Randall Schwab
- Jon Cryer as Randall Schwab, Jr.
- Ray Walston as Gramps
- Tina Louise as Florence Beaugereaux
- Cynthia Nixon as Michelle
- Melvin van Peebles as Wino Bob
- Dennis Hopper as Sponson
- Martin Mull as Coletti
- Louis Nye as Garth
- Bob Uecker as Himself
- Gary Guthrie as the Radio Deejay
Soundtrack
King Sunny Adé appears in the film and provided the score.
Production
The movie's plot was very loosely based on stories from National Lampoon magazine that were written by Ted Mann and Tod Carroll. O.C. and Stiggs were recurring characters in articles in the magazine, eventually leading up to the entire October 1982 issue being devoted to a fictional first-person account of the story of their summer, "The Utterly Monstrous Mind-Roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs". The plotline and main characters of the movie were significantly different from the National Lampoon stories they were based on. Most notably, the original magazine characters were destructive, malevolent teenagers, whereas the main characters of the movie were not inherently destructive, and significant portions of the magazine story were omitted from the movie.
Aftermath
In an interview years later, included on the DVD release of Tanner '88, Altman acknowledges that the film didn't work but is quick to defend the cast, which included Tanner star Cynthia Nixon, saying it was "not their fault."
Reception
The film received generally lackluster reviews.[2]
Related Works
Alan Moore's comic characters D.R. and Quinch are a science fiction take on the magazine's O.C. and Stiggs characters.