Delayed Reaction: The Color of Money

The Pitch: The Hustler, 25 years later.

I recently watched The Hustler with the intention of following with The Color of Money* soon after. It's a weird way to get a sequel. 25 years apart. Same lead actor. New, more acclaimed director. The most similar comparison I can find is also in 1986: Aliens, which had a much smaller gap in time. The difference between filming in 1961 and 1986 is significant (even ignoring the shift to color). I'm reminded of how we went from the Wright brothers' 3 second flight to Lindbergh's flying from New York to Paris over roughly the same time span. Change happens fast sometimes.

*I suppose it's a reflection on my age that I keep wanting to type "The Color of Friendship" instead.

After both films, I don't have a much better understanding of billiards hustling than I did before. In the 1986 film, Eddie (Paul Newman) is happy to point out to Vincent (Tom Cruise) what he's doing wrong or how they should approach a con, but Scorsese doesn't seem to be all that interested in the con itself. I'm also a little confused by the concept of a hustler hustling another hustler. Like, when Forrest Whitaker's character gets the best of Eddie, isn't that just because Eddie is getting drunk and stubborn? Whitaker is playing better than him, but is the hustle just convincing Eddie to keep playing? In which case, Eddie is essentially choosing to be the victim? I'm just not interested enough in 9-ball to understand, I think.

As far as lifetime achievement Oscars go, Paul Newman's performance is better than Leonardo DiCaprio's in The Revenant or Meryl Streep's for The Iron Lady (technically, her third Oscar, but long overdue). I suppose this is the role that began Tom Cruise's hunger for an Oscar that drove many of his choices for the new decade and a half. I suppose that's a good thing.

The film is easy to watch. I don't think The Hustler needed a follow-up, nor do I think this added much to the story of Fast Eddie. But, that's as much Walter Tevis' fault as anyone's for writing a sequel to the novel in the first place.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend