blanche-2
Jeff Goldblum, Cindy Lauper, and Peter Falk star in "Vibes," a 1988 comedy.Goldblum and Lauper play psychics Nicky Deezy and Sylvia Pickel (pronounced pick-EL) who are at an institute where their abilities are being tested. Sylvia has a spirit guide named Louise, and Nick's specialty is psychometry, which is picking up vibes from objects. They are approached by Harry Buscafusco (Peter Falk) to find his son in Ecuador. Since he's offering a great deal of money, they accept.Falk is lying, of course, and it doesn't take Goldblum long to figure it out. He wants them to find a hidden temple in the mountains where all the psychic energy in the world comes from. One of his friends found it, but is now comatose. But they're not the only ones looking for it.This is sort of a Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Power. What makes it a cut above a fluffy comedy is the casting of Cindy Lauper, a unique personality, the talented, quirky Jeff Goldblum, and the always wonderful Peter Falk. I think my favorite scene is the one where Goldblum confronts him, and Falk quickly makes up another story to support his lies.Fun movie.
Charles Herold (cherold)
I have fond memories of this movie from when it came out, so all these years later I decided to watch it again, and I still really like it. It's very silly, but it's reasonably funny and the Indiana-Jones-style adventure aspects are pretty well done.The big surprise of the movie when it came out was Cyndi Lauper as a wacky psychic who dresses like a very colorful hooker. She was surprisingly effective as an actress, even though she was simply playing her basic persona. She and Goldblum make one of the most atypical Hollywood romantic couples I think I've ever seen. I won't call this a great comedy, but it is a hugely likable one.
hmghosthost
This film is a blast. Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper are a comedic smash together. I think people would go see this film if it were released today. Googie Gress is impressive in his role as the Nemesis of our heroes, with some truly witty lines of his own. Peter Faulk plays a con man who entices Goldblum and Lauper to travel with him to Equador and use their psychic gifts to find his missing son. The son doesn't really exist, and we discover that he is really hunting for a lost Incan city fabled to have a "room of gold". A sampler of their whit and humor includes...Ex-Boyfriend: "No hard feelings, huh?" Lauper: "No. No feelings at all".Faulk: "I wanted to be a somebody". Lauper: "You ARE a somebody". Faulk: "A somebody with money".Joseph: "Where wouldn't you like to be shot?" Goldblum: "South America".
LesHalles
Every time I see this film I find it hilarious. The film-makers have great resumes, much of them in TV. The cast includes comic masters Falk and Goldblum, and Lauper does a great job in one of her first roles; these are little gems of comic performances. Peter Falk is nearly as funny here as he is in _The In-Laws_. Sands and Gress are great as well.The plot moves along briskly and the action/adventure/travel side of the film works on its own as well as framing the humor. The romance is like something from screwball comedy.So why did the film get such a cold reception? I think this film has done so poorly because the humor depends on being familiar with new-age religion, psychics, channels, ESP, magic, etc. The script lampoons the kind of new-age/psychic phenomena popular in Hollywood. The target audience- those who are familiar with such things and at the same time don't take them too seriously- must only include the three writers.Although the film appears cynical and pessimistic about people, it cheers me way up. It has the same uplifting effect as another under-rated comedy masterpiece, _Into The Night_, also featuring Jeff Goldblum.Films like _The Matrix_ and _Star Wars_ are sometimes praised for communicating a philosophical and spiritual message. While those films certainly wear philosophical robes, I suspect they are actually driven by motives of greed, violence and melodrama. On the other hand, _Vibes_ and _Into the Night_ are both low-key, pessimistic, even cynical films that paradoxically seem to be driven by an inner engine of warmth and insight that can give viewers a real lift instead of hollow thrills.If you like _Vibes_ try another way-out-there under-rated comedy, _Simon_ (1980) with Alan Arkin.
AD
