The Linguini Incident (1991)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Pasta Tense

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The underrated filmmaker Richard Shepard (The Matador, The Hunting Party, Dom Hemingway, The Perfection) made his debut with this highly enjoyable screwball crime caper, scoring none other than rock legend David Bowie for a lead role, as well as the delightful Rosanna Arquette.

Bowie plays Monte, a bartender at a popular, upscale restaurant. His co-worker, Lucy (Arquette), a server at the restaurant, dreams of being an escape artist like Houdini. (Unfortunately, she's not very good and winds up stuck in one of her traps for an entire night.) Lucy and her best friend Vivian (Eszter Balint, Cousin Eva in Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise) decide to rob the place, and especially its insufferable owners (Buck Henry and Andre Gregory). Monte agrees to help them, if Lucy will agree to marry him, so that he can get his green card. Without over-explaining anything, a bet is involved, and Lucy must eventually perform a real escape.

I never saw the theatrical version, and even though I hunted for it over the years, I never had much luck tracking it down. This is Shepard's director's cut, assembled and restored for a 2024 release, and even without anything to compare it to, I found it to be a pure joy. It's weird, but in a good way, has some decent laughs, and a unique look (it feels slightly artificial, but never in a cold way). And each twist and turn comes out of left field, so it keeps you on your toes. (It might make a good double-bill with another Arquette movie, After Hours.)

Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin plays a hostess at the restaurant, and Maura Tierney makes her feature acting debut as Lucy's fellow server (she would work with Shepard again in the very good thriller Oxygen). As far as I know, there is no linguini in the movie.

MVD released an absolutely outstanding 2024 Blu-ray edition, with so many extras it'll make your head spin. There are two audio commentary tracks, one by Shepard alone, and one with Shepard and Rosanna Arquette, Eszter Balint, co-rpoducer Sarah Jakcson, co-screenwriter Tamar Brott, and moderator Heath Holland; there are many discussions about the history of the movie, and the differences between the two cuts.

There's a full-length, 105-minute documentary on the making of the film, an introduction by Shepard, a photo gallery, and the original trailer as well as the 2024 trailer. And best of all is an SD transfer of the original theatrical cut, presented in Academy ratio (and probably transferred from LaserDisc or VHS) if anyone's curious to compare the two versions. There's also a reversible cover and a liner notes booklet with essays by Graham Rinaldi and Shepard. This is Highly Recommended.