Turk 182! (1985) 20th Century Fox/Action-Comedy RT: 97 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, sexual references and some content, violence, drug use) Director: Bob Clark Screenplay: Denis Hamill, John Hamill and James Gregory Kingston Music: Paul Zaza Cinematography: Reginald H. Morris Release date: February 15, 1985 (US) Cast: Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, Kim Cattrall, Robert Culp, Darren McGavin, Peter Boyle, James Tolkan, Steven Keats, Paul Sorvino, Thomas Quinn, Dick O’Neill, Norman Parker, Maury Chaykin. Box Office: $3.5M (US)
Rating: ***
Turk 182! is what I like to call a “shaggy dog story”. This term refers to a story that entertains the listener as it’s being told even though there’s no way it could be true. There are quite a number of plot holes in Turk 182!, some of them big enough to drive a fleet of Mack trucks through. I don’t care, I like this movie a lot.
Critics and audiences weren’t kind to this movie when it hit theaters in February ’85. It received a barrage of negative reviews and did a big belly flop at the box office. I attended a Saturday afternoon matinee and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s directed by Bob Clark and we all know about his questionable filmography. He directed Baby Geniuses and its sequel, need I say more?
In my not-so-humble opinion, I think Turk 182! is one of Clark’s better efforts. It’s about a young graffiti artist who embarks on a campaign of harassment against the mayor because the city refuses to help his firefighter brother after he gets hurt on the job. It’s one of those “one man vs. the system” type movies and while it may not be the best of its kind, it’s still entertaining enough that you don’t mind watching it.
Turk 182! is a good flick as long as you take it on its own terms. It might not get too high a mark in a Film 101 class (it definitely has its share of flaws), but I found it to be a lot of fun. So what if some of it doesn’t make any sense? Logic doesn’t always factor into movies like this, but I guess that’s why they call it “escapist entertainment” assuming that an escape from reality also entails abandoning all sense of logic at the theater entrance.
Set in New York (where else?), firefighter Terry Lynch (Urich, The Ice Pirates) gets seriously injured while rescuing a young girl from a burning building. Because he was drinking at the neighborhood bar right before the incident, he is denied any help from the city or the fire department. No welfare, no workers’ compensation, no benefits, no nothing. His younger brother Jimmy (Hutton, Ordinary People) appeals to Mayor Tyler (Culp, I Spy) for help, but the politico rebukes him in front of reporters calling Terry a drunk before turning his back on the angry young man. Jimmy retaliates by papering Tyler’s office with the 200 letters his brother received from the city and its various departments regarding the matter.
The mayor’s chief security officer Ryan (Boyle, Young Frankenstein), a bully with a badge, tracks down Terry at the neighborhood bar and arrests him after roughing him up. Jimmy goes to bail him out and learns that he’s in the hospital after making a suicide attempt. It’s at the station that Jimmy first meets Danny (Cattrall, Porky’s), the social worker assigned to Terry’s case. It’s not exactly love at first sight, but you know that’s exactly what’s in the cards for these star-crossed young uns.
After an unsuccessful attempt to talk to the mayor again, Jimmy witnesses an act of vandalism in which protestors deface a giant apple representing Tyler’s anti-graffiti campaign. On it, they write “Zimmerman flew, Tyler knew!” in reference to a criminal act committed by his former Public Works Commissioner. Jimmy resolves to make Tyler’s life miserable by leaving his mark (i.e. Turk 182) all over the city. His first target is the all-new graffiti-proof subway train the mayor is unveiling to a crowd of people and reporters.
From this point on, Turk 182 becomes a folk hero to the people of the city by pulling off the most elaborate stunts. At one point, Jimmy (with the help of a friend) hacks into the scoreboard computer at Giants Stadium and embarrasses Tyler who’s making a personal appearance with the governor. It’s all a lead-up to one final incredible act of rebellion on the Queensboro Bridge.
As much as I like Turk 182!, I can’t help but notice some of the huge gaping plot holes. They are as obvious as a black elephant in a white room. I’d like to point out a few of them, not as a criticism of the movie, but as questions that any reasonable person might ask the storyteller.
- Jimmy doesn’t appear to hold a job and his brother’s medical bills must amount to a small fortune. So how can he afford to pull off all of his elaborate stunts? It couldn’t have been cheap to make the banner he attaches to an airplane.
- How is it that Danny figures out that Jimmy is Turk 182 after only a few minutes of looking through his things while NOBODY in the whole police department or on Tyler’s security team can? How hard could it be for them to figure out that the kid who vandalized the mayor’s office is the same one plastering the whole city with his tag? I mean, Terry’s nickname is “Turk” and his badge number is 182. How hard is it to put two and two together? That’s the government in action, I guess.
- Finally, there’s the whole Queensboro Bridge scenario. Where should I start? How is it that nobody notices Jimmy hiding in the girders, especially after security clears all the other workers off? If security is so tight for this ceremony, how is it that they don’t spot Jimmy sooner? When they finally do spot him, the police can’t get to him because he’s greased all the lower girders. Something like this would take a bit of time. How could he have done this without being spotted? So much for New York’s finest.
I’m sure there are more plot holes, but this will do for now. I enjoy looking for mistakes like this; it’s one of the joys of being a lifelong movie freak.
But like I said, I do like Turk 182! For one thing, it has a pretty good cast. Hutton does a decent job as Jimmy/Turk 182 and the late Urich does well as Terry. Did I ever believe they were brothers? Sure, why not. It’s not that uncommon for siblings to have such a huge age difference between them (Jimmy is 20, Terry is 34). There are 13 years between me and my sister with no siblings in between. There are 24 ½ years between my sister’s oldest and youngest (three siblings in between). Besides, the two actors don’t look entirely dissimilar.
The late Culp plays a real SOB here and does a good job of it. The late Boyle makes a very believable bully/buffoon. As for Cattrall, she’s a very good looking woman. Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) contributes a nice cameo as himself.
Turk 182! has a definite New York flavor to it; listen to the way the people talk. Get a load of some of the characters who show up throughout the movie. My personal favorite is the guy who gives a very colorful on-the-street TV interview about Turk 182 in front of his mortified wife. Only in New York, right? Here’s the bottom line, Turk 182! works as a shaggy dog story that totally crosses the line into “Yeah, right!” territory. It’s a lot of fun without being the least bit believable. Isn’t that what going to the movies is all about?
