Mikey and Nicky (1976)

Back at it again for another featured Letterboxd List review! This week we go back to the Top 250 Women-Directed list. Specifically, we’ll be looking at number 38 on that list…Mikey and Nicky (1976).

Title: Mikey and Nicky

Director: Elaine May

Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes

Released: December 21, 1976 (United States)

Available to stream on: The Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Max, and Prime Video

Nicky (John Cassavetes) is hiding out in a hotel room. Convinced that the mob has a hit out on him, his paranoia takes control. In a desperate attempt for help, he calls up his longtime friend, Mikey (Peter Falk).

As he’s done so many times in the past, Mikey agrees to come over and help Nicky out of the latest predicament he’s gotten himself into.

Once Mikey is finally able to get Nicky to somewhat calm down, they agree they need to get out of Philadelphia. The sooner the better too, because what Nicky doesn’t know is that he’s right. A hitman by the name of Kinney (Ned Beatty) is hot on his trail.

However, what should be an easy escape out of the city turns out to be anything but easy. Mikey, unfortunately, isn’t able to keep Nicky from straying from the plan. Stopping at a bar, a late-night movie, and even his mother’s grave, Nicky is determined to do things on his schedule.

Will Mikey be able to get his friend out of one last jam?

Or will Mikey and Nicky push their friendship to a breaking point?

If you thought you’d be getting some sort of mob crime drama with Mikey and Nicky (1976), you’d be wrong. While, yes, the main plot line revolves around a mob hit being out on Nicky, that kind of ends up taking a back seat. Shoot, we never even really know for sure what the details are behind the hit.

What we get is more character study than crime thriller. For that to work, you better have two strong leads and luckily that is what we get. It is evident right away that Cassavetes and Falk have a certain chemistry together. They play off of each other brilliantly and the on-screen friendship has a natural feel to it.

Despite this though, I found Mikey and Nicky (1976) to be incredibly boring. While their performances are strong enough to keep my interest, the aimlessness of the script and overall structure worked just as hard to try and drive me away.

Definitely give it a watch though. There are plenty of people who rave about this movie. Just because I’m not a fan of it doesn’t mean you won’t be.

So, if you have seen Mikey and Nicky (1976), now it’s your turn.

Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

As always, follow me over on Letterboxd to see everything else that I’ve been watching.