X
  • 1987
  • PG-13
  • Columbia Pictures
  • 1 h 47 m
  • 1987
  • PG-13
  • Columbia Pictures
  • 1 h 47 m

Summary Chuck Clarke (Hoffman) and Lyle Rogers (Beatty) are a couple of no-talent New York singer-songwriters who agree to play the only gig they can find at the Chez Casablanca in Morocco. En route, they become embroiled in various international intrigues in the neighboring (fictional) Ishtar.

Directed By: Elaine May

Written By: Elaine May

  • 1987
  • PG-13
  • Columbia Pictures
  • 1 h 47 m
  • 1987
  • PG-13
  • Columbia Pictures
  • 1 h 47 m

Ishtar

Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 16 Critic Reviews
51
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 13 User Ratings
5.8
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Chuck Clarke (Hoffman) and Lyle Rogers (Beatty) are a couple of no-talent New York singer-songwriters who agree to play the only gig they can find at the Chez Casablanca in Morocco. En route, they become embroiled in various international intrigues in the neighboring (fictional) Ishtar.

Directed By: Elaine May

Written By: Elaine May

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 16 Critic Reviews
51
44% Positive
7 Reviews
38% Mixed
6 Reviews
19% Negative
3 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Mixed or Average Based on 16 Critic Reviews
51
44% Positive
7 Reviews
38% Mixed
6 Reviews
19% Negative
3 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
80
The most underestimated commercial movie of 1987 may not be quite as good as Elaine May's three previous features, but it's still a very funny work by one of this country's greatest comic talents.
By Jonathan Rosenbaum FULL REVIEW
70
Ishtar is an unabashed vamp for a pair of household names, and as such it works, often hilariously.
By Desson Thomson FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 13 User Ratings
5.8
38% Positive
5 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
23% Negative
3 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 13 User Ratings
5.8
38% Positive
5 Ratings
38% Mixed
5 Ratings
23% Negative
3 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

70
Enter Charles Grodin, who upstages all involved via his savagely comical portrayal of a CIA agent.
FULL REVIEW
50
The worst of it is painless; the best is funny, sly, cheerful and, here and there, even genuinely inspired.
By Janet Maslin FULL REVIEW
40
The guys in Ishtar are the boring wallflowers of the world. They probably shouldn't be mocked, disgraced and beaten, but who really wants to spend close to two hours with them.
By Brad Laidman FULL REVIEW
30
It's piddling -- a hangdog little comedy with not enough laughs...its spirit rattles around inside it like a marble in an oil drum.
FULL REVIEW
12
A truly dreadful film, a lifeless, massive, lumbering exercise in failed comedy. Elaine May, the director, has mounted a multimillion-dollar expedition in search of a plot so thin that it hardly could support a five-minute TV sketch.
By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW
See All 16 Critic Reviews

Details

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Production Company Columbia Pictures, Delphi V Productions
Release Date May 15, 1987
Duration 1 h 47 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
View All Details

Awards

Razzie Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
• 1 Nomination

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