A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.
Acting
Dreyfuss and DeVito's delicious mutual loathing—two titans at peak petty.
Direction
Levinson's Baltimore love letter, lived-in and period-perfect.
Writing
Dialogue so sharp you'll quote the scams for days.
Director
Barry Levinson
Richard Dreyfuss
Bill 'BB' Babowsky
Danny DeVito
Ernest Tilley
Barbara Hershey
Nora Tilley
John Mahoney
Moe Adams
Jackie Gayle
Sam
Stanley Brock
Gil
Seymour Cassel
Cheese
Bruno Kirby
Mouse
J.T. Walsh
Wing
Richard Portnow
Carly
Matt Craven
Looney
Alan Blumenfeld
Stanley
Brad Sullivan
Masters
Michael Tucker
Bagel
Deirdre O'Connell
Nellie
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dreyfuss and DeVito improvised extensively; their mutual disdain onscreen reportedly needed little acting.
The film captures the dying breed of 'tin men'—door-to-door salesmen who'd vanished by the 1980s, replaced by telemarketing and deregulation.
US
