Spitball Army

5.1
[DVD, Netflix]

Here is a textbook example of a film likely having amazing potential on paper but not ultimately translating those qualities to the screen. The cast is A-ranked, the script is co-written by Joan Didion, the story offers moral dilemmas; but the acting is, for the most part (especially DeNiro, who was taking a nap in between his work in TAXI DRIVER and THE KING OF COMEDY), wooden and somnolent, the extremely clever turns of phrase fall with a thud, and the moral dilemmas remain intellectualized rather than emotional.