IMDb plot summary: The story of hard-luck Melvin E. Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes.
Directed by Jonathan Demme. Starring Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, and Elizabeth Cheshire.
Melvin and Howard tells the true story of Melvin Dummar, an average milkman who gives a strange hitchhiker a ride one night, only to discover that that man was Howard Hughes and that he's been left a piece of Hughes' fortune. While Dummar could certainly use the money, he has a difficult time convincing anyone that the will including him is genuine. The story is split between showing his financial difficulties before and after Hughes' death. I wonder what the real Melvin Dummar thought of this film, in which he's portrayed as kind of a horrible person. There's a level of not wanting him to win the money because he doesn't seem to "deserve" a windfall like this. The movie is also awkwardly paced and makes it tough to tell what the conflict actually is at any given moment. We just meander through Melvin's life for awhile, and then suddenly it kicks into gear in the last forty minutes or so when Hughes dies, and it feels sloppily executed. The most interesting piece by far is the opening 15 minutes or so, which shows our one interaction between the two title characters, and that'd be a great little short film if not saddled with the rest of the movie.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Melvin and Howard < Port of Shadows
Melvin and Howard > Fast Food Nation
Melvin and Howard > Star Trek Into Darkness
Melvin and Howard < Life of Pi
Melvin and Howard > Flightplan
Melvin and Howard < The Subject Was Roses
Melvin and Howard > Boys Town
Melvin and Howard < Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Melvin and Howard < Isadora
Melvin and Howard < Mission: Impossible III
Melvin and Howard > Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Melvin and Howard < The Secret War of Harry FRIGG
Final spot: #2145 out of 3666, or 41%.
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