“Looking for Palladin” meanders around Antigua, Guatemala, at a leisurely gait and enjoys the presence of Ben Gazzara in its central role. That’s about all there is to find, however.
A short-tempered, Ugly American talent agent named Josh (David Moscow) has come, reluctantly, to persuade long- missing Hollywood legend Jack Palladin to take a lousy-sounding cameo in a project related to one of his old movies.
After he finally finds the ultra-mellow Jack (Gazzara), who works for kicks as a chef, the two are off for a night of self- discovery. Yep.
The film simply isn’t well thought out. It’s not credible that Josh doesn’t recognize his quarry when meeting him face to face, especially given their later-revealed personal connection. And Josh has come this far, but knows nothing about the project he’s pitching. Josh doesn’t even introduce himself when working Jack.
Jack, meanwhile, is too Yoda-like. He’s perfectly happy. He doesn’t need anything Josh is offering, so where’s the tension?
“Looking for Palladin”
Not rated. 1 hour, 55 minutes. Written and directed by Andrzej Krakowski; starring Ben Gazzara, Talia Shire, Vincent Pastore and David Moscow. Opens today at the Regency Tamarac.
