After retrieving a mysterious parcel for his ex-wife, eccentric down-on-his-luck artist Harry Berg (Michael Keaton) enlists the help of private eye Rachel Dobs (Rae Dawn Chong) when he suddenly becomes embroiled with thugs and a murder investigation. The combination of Harry's many comic eccentricities and Rachel's straight-and-narrow, naive personality ends up working in their favor to help solve the crime.
Originally produced as Skip Tracer, this film changed its title to Squeeze Play before settling for The Squeeze. The working title refers to someone who tracks down delinquent bill payers.[3] When released in theaters, The Squeeze made only $2.2 million at the U.S. box office.[4] It is most notable for an accident that took place during filming, in which a stunt man was killed driving a car into the Hudson River.
An updated version of the film was briefly released on Netflix, and Comcast had an HD version On Demand in 2008. After being long out-of-print on home media for years, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released The Squeeze on Blu-ray on March 26, 2019.[5]
Reception
Despite billing itself as a "comedy-thriller on a lucky streak", the film failed to score with most critics. Film historian Leonard Maltin called it "Dreadful...almost completely devoid of laughs or suspense."
On an episode of the movie review show At the Movies, critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert panned the film, but humorously had a difficult time discerning the plot.
^Austin, Bruce A. (1989). "The Film Industry and Audience Research". Immediate Seating: A Look at Movie Audiences. Wadsworth Publishing. p. 14. ISBN0-534-09366-3.
