| Teddy |
"You better watch your step," Teddy Lewis forewarns the unsuspecting Ned Raccine (William Hurt)
with the first notion that his drop-dead gorgeous and unhappily married lover, Matty Walker (Kathleen
Turner) is only in this strictly for selfish reasons. It is Lewis who clued Ned in on his co-conspirator's true
motive, agenda and the initial assumption he was being had by the vixen who had secretly plotted murder
of her wealthy, boring and unscrupulous spouse.
"Hey! No smokin' in here!" Teddy warns his friend Raccine; as Bob Segar's Feel Like a Number blasts
from the speakers in his arsenal lab/digs as he mimes along with the tune. "Any time you try a decent
crime, you got 50 ways you could fuck up. If you think of 25 of 'em, then you are a genius, and you ain't
no genius." He then asks him, "You know who told me that?" Ned's eyes answered his question. He
knew he was talking about him. Teddy continues trying in vain to reason with the desperate attorney that
had previously defended him successfully. "Are you listening to me asshole? Because I like you. I got a
serious question for you. What the fuck are you doin'? This is not shit for you to be messin' with."
with the first notion that his drop-dead gorgeous and unhappily married lover, Matty Walker (Kathleen
Turner) is only in this strictly for selfish reasons. It is Lewis who clued Ned in on his co-conspirator's true
motive, agenda and the initial assumption he was being had by the vixen who had secretly plotted murder
of her wealthy, boring and unscrupulous spouse.
"Hey! No smokin' in here!" Teddy warns his friend Raccine; as Bob Segar's Feel Like a Number blasts
from the speakers in his arsenal lab/digs as he mimes along with the tune. "Any time you try a decent
crime, you got 50 ways you could fuck up. If you think of 25 of 'em, then you are a genius, and you ain't
no genius." He then asks him, "You know who told me that?" Ned's eyes answered his question. He
knew he was talking about him. Teddy continues trying in vain to reason with the desperate attorney that
had previously defended him successfully. "Are you listening to me asshole? Because I like you. I got a
serious question for you. What the fuck are you doin'? This is not shit for you to be messin' with."
In his first feature film, Mickey Rourke took center stage among the support players in spite of his lack of
screen time. Rourke plays 'Teddy Lewis' a street-wise client, wire-bomb expert, arsonist and parolee,
who Ned reaches out to for assistance in wiring up an explosion effective and deadly enough to destroy
his lover's husband's warehouse and end his life as well. Teddy tries without success to discourage Ned
from going through with the less than perfect plan.
In this, his breakthrough role, instead of playing Teddy Lewis as the ordinarily generic petty criminal,
Mickey Rourke made quite a statement, evolving his character into the most intriguing cast member in the
film, making both the movie-making moguls as well as the critics alike remember his face seek out his
name. While most bit-parts are hardly renowned for being star-makers, Rourke delivered his rough dialog
through his smooth, soft voice that "immediately established him as an actor drawn to ambiguity,"
according to Bart Mills (author of "Mickey Rourke: An illustrated Biographyì), making himself a future
force to be reckoned with in the industry. While Mickey Rourke was only in two scenes, they were very
well written and even better played. This gave the initial indication that it mattered not how long or how
high the level, each scene featuring Rourke, belonged to Rourke. His part was not only an integral
footnote to the main plot, the young actor pulled it off as if he were a veteran.
screen time. Rourke plays 'Teddy Lewis' a street-wise client, wire-bomb expert, arsonist and parolee,
who Ned reaches out to for assistance in wiring up an explosion effective and deadly enough to destroy
his lover's husband's warehouse and end his life as well. Teddy tries without success to discourage Ned
from going through with the less than perfect plan.
In this, his breakthrough role, instead of playing Teddy Lewis as the ordinarily generic petty criminal,
Mickey Rourke made quite a statement, evolving his character into the most intriguing cast member in the
film, making both the movie-making moguls as well as the critics alike remember his face seek out his
name. While most bit-parts are hardly renowned for being star-makers, Rourke delivered his rough dialog
through his smooth, soft voice that "immediately established him as an actor drawn to ambiguity,"
according to Bart Mills (author of "Mickey Rourke: An illustrated Biographyì), making himself a future
force to be reckoned with in the industry. While Mickey Rourke was only in two scenes, they were very
well written and even better played. This gave the initial indication that it mattered not how long or how
high the level, each scene featuring Rourke, belonged to Rourke. His part was not only an integral
footnote to the main plot, the young actor pulled it off as if he were a veteran.
| ..and they took note |
| Freelance and syndicated reviewer, Jeff Shannon commented: "Mickey Rourke is simply splendid in this memorable role." |
| The acclaimed critic Dragon Antulov commented in the All Review Movie/Video Review 11/3/1998 "The best side role the one made by a young Mickey Rourke as a petty criminal who seems to have more common sense than his supposed smarter and more educated lawyer." |
| In The New Yorker, Pauline Kael wrote how "rare Rourke's minor role was ìconsiderably lively" from the norm. |
| Character synopsis written by Kathy Thompson. |