Nearly unreleased in the course of the turmoil that marked the late '80s at Columbia Pictures, and barely acknowledged when it finally did hit a handful of screens, the caper comedy/romance Happy New Year (1987) hasn't enjoyed an appreciable rediscovery in the generation since. It's unfortunate, as this remake of a '70s French farce benefits from a disarming central performance courtesy of Peter Falk, able work from the other principals in the cast, and crisp direction from John G. Avildsen (Rocky, 1976).

The scenario (adapted by Nancy Dowd under a pseudonym) finds New York City career criminals Nick (Falk) and Charlie (Charles Durning) on a Florida-bound train, planning that one last big score that will set up their retirement. Their ultimate destination is the ritzier part of Palm Beach, and their target is a Harry Winston jewelry store. In order to study and ultimately pierce the shop's security, Nick devises a most unusual angle; donning elaborate makeup and posing as a wealthy, dotty octogenarian, he starts frequenting the establishment, buying ever more pricy pieces as purported presents to a dying wife. The store's officious manager (Tom Courtenay) comes to welcome the profitable visits of this affable oldster; Nick even proceeds to broaden the ruse by putting in appearances in old-lady drag as the counterfeit codger's sister.

In the course of casing the joint, however, Nick begins taking appreciative notice of Carolyn Benedict (Wendy Hughes), the elegant and attractive owner of a neighboring antique store. After espying her failed efforts to get a local restaurateur to part with a coveted Louis XVI table, Nick finagles the purchase of the piece, and shows up on her doorstep looking to bargain. Though Carolyn proves a hard negotiator, Nick's intrigue is unbowed, and she soon finds herself in the unlikely position of reciprocating his attentions. Even as their relationship deepens, Nick reluctantly accepts the inevitability that the heist must come off as planned--and the unexpected hitches pile up as the story moves to its end.

The screenplay of Happy New Year hewed very close to that of its inspiration, director Claude Lelouch's La Bonne Annee (1973) (Avildsen worked in a cameo for Lelouch as a train passenger in the opening). The most significant deviance from Lelouch's original scenario came with the introduction of the elderly sister pose, an idea attributed to Falk. With a lesser actor, it could have become overdone quickly; in his hands, it only made for a larger canvas for him to render very charming work. Falk purportedly based the old lady characterization on his mother. Though Happy New Year was in the can by mid-1985, Avildsen was contractually forbidden to cut it until his directing obligations on The Karate Kid (1984) were completed. After that, the project became an emblematic victim of the ensuing power struggles at Columbia's front office that culminated with the studio's 1989 acquisition by Sony; it took until the late summer of 1987 for its release, and after minimal promotion, it quickly disappeared.

Thanks to the late '70s emergence of the filmmakers dubbed the "Australian New Wave," the antipodean film industry enjoyed unprecedented cache with American art house crowds over the course of the Reagan Era. One of the biggest beneficiaries was the talented and versatile Hughes, as showcased in remarkable efforts like Phillip Noyce's Newsfront (1978), Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career (1979), Paul Cox's Lonely Hearts (1982) and Carl Schultz's Careful, He Might Hear You (1983). Happy New Year's troubled production history, however, would make for an inauspicious U.S. debut, and gaining traction in Hollywood proved difficult afterwards; after a handful of TV assignments in the early '90s, she returned home for good, continuing to grace Australian film, television and stage through the late 2000s. Happy New Year was noted by the AMPAS, at least, as Robert Laden's age effects secured him a Best Makeup Oscar® nomination.

Producer: Jerry Weintraub
Director: John G. Avildsen
Screenplay: Warren Lane (screenplay); Claude Lelouch (film "La bonne annee")
Cinematography: James Crabe
Art Direction: William F. Matthews
Music: Bill Conti
Film Editing: Jane Kurson
Cast: Peter Falk (Nick), Charles Durning (Charlie), Claude Lelouch (Man on Train), Gary Maas (Fence), Jack Hrkach (Bellboy), Tom Courtenay (Edward Saunders), Earleen Carey (Winston Sales Girl), Debra Garrett (as Debbie Garrett (Winston Sales Girl), Karina Etcheverry (Winston Sales Girl), Ted Bartsch (Doorman).
C-85m.

by Jay S. Steinberg