Episode 29: The Color of Money
Justin:
For the most part, THE COLOR OF MONEY is a pretty unnecessary sequel. THE HUSTLER ends with Fast Eddie Felson giving up the game as both a tribute to his recently deceased girlfriend and as a rebuke to the evil scumbags who caused said death (him included). He’s left the game itself, though, on a high note, wiping the floor with his nemesis Minnesota Fats and walking out of the pool hall with a great deal more money than what he walked in with. Story over.
But that being said, I’m really glad that this film does exist and that we have two more hours of Fast Eddie to refer to when discussing this truly compelling character. That Paul Newman got to reprise his role 25 years later and got to mentor the up-and-coming Tom Cruise makes it all the better. Yes, the script is a bit garbled at times (though the Academy would disagree there, given it’s nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay) and there are several moments that scream 1980s (not a detriment per se, but it does remove some of the timelessness it could achieve), but when you pop this movie in, I feel like there’s two things you’re probably looking for: Paul and pool. And you certainly get them both.
Martin Scorsese decided to reserve all of his influence for the pool scenes, shooting the matches between big-haired sharks with a flair that shows he had some fun making the movie, even though it’s also kind of obvious his heart wasn’t fully into it. The balls crack and thunderously slam into pockets, whether through elite and overt skill or feigned luck; either way, whenever the plot halts and focuses on mano a mano throwdowns on the green felt, you certainly have my attention.
And as for Paul Newman and his character of Fast Eddie Felson, he remains memorable because of his well-earned over two movies depth and the ease with which he gets us to root for him. While he’s certainly more unlikable in THE HUSTLER, he never ventures into the waters of being rooted against. After watching both movies, I was left feeling that I very much wanted to meet both of these men - Newman and Fast Eddie, but for different reasons. I wanted to learn how to be the actual coolest human of all time from Newman and wanted to improve my skills in 9-ball with Fast Eddie. I guess what I’m saying more than anything is that after spending four hours in one day with Fast Eddie Felson, it was probably a good thing for my wallet that I couldn’t just hop in my car and head to a pool hall.
