The Squeeze Reviews

This troubled production went through two producers, two directors, two female leads, the death of a stuntman, an extra $10 million not originally budgeted, and a last-minute title change just for the honor of bombing at the box office during a highly competitive summer. Harry Berg (Keaton) is a starving New York City artist in the midst of building a giant dinosaur out of hundreds of old television sets. His ex-wife, Hilda (Langland), sweet-talks him into going to her apartment to pick up a package. At the apartment he discovers a dead man in the closet. Without calling the police, Harry takes the package and discovers that it contains a strange electromagnetic device. Gangsters are after the gadget in order to fix the upcoming $50 million lottery drawing, with the help of the drawing's corrupt television host, Honest Tom (Davidson). Hooking up with dedicated "skip tracer" Rachel (Chong)--who is after him to pay his alimony--Harry tries to fend off Mafia muscleman Titus (Meat Loaf) and takes a chance at walking off with the $50 million. Confused, poorly paced, and badly directed, THE SQUEEZE was definitely more trouble than it was worth. Actress Jenny Wright (OUT OF BOUNDS; NEAR DARK) originally was cast as the skip tracer, and much of the film was shot before she was fired and replaced by Chong. This required all the scenes Wright had appeared in to be reshot. During the production, veteran stuntman Vic Magnotta drowned while performing a car stunt in which the auto was driven off a Hoboken pier and plunged into the Hudson River (he was apparently pinned in the car). When the disastrous production was finally finished, the budget had ballooned from $12 million to over $22 million.