Ed Okin can't sleep. His life isn't working out. Late one night he drives out to LAX and inadvertently rescues the mysterious Diana from a quartet of Iranian killers. For the next two days, he is plunged into her bizarre world of international criminals, assassins and sugar-daddies. Ed does his best to help, but he has his own problems ...

There are two main aspects to this enjoyable thriller which raise it above others. The first is the character of Ed, who's a world away from the stereotypical action hero / disgruntled cop male lead. Ed isn't stupid but he is boring and non-responsive. A bit like Chauncey in Being There, everybody else assumes there's far more to him than there actually is. Jeff Goldblum pulls this trait off note-perfect, somehow managing to make Ed both dull but still funny and watchable. The other great amusement here is the extraordinary cast; it has some fine actors (Farnsworth, McGill, Papas), some weird people in key parts (French auteur Vadim as a gangster, British writer Lynn as a tailor, a hilarious Bowie as a killer) and an astonishing array of filmmakers in cameo roles (a technique Landis reuses to good comic effect, especially in Spies Like Us and Innocent Blood). The eagle-eyed can spot Jack Arnold, Paul Bartel, David Cronenberg, Jonathan Demme, Richard Franklin, Amy Heckerling, Jim Henson, Lawrence Kasdan, Daniel Petrie and Don Siegel as well as Rick Baker (who is very funny as a drug dealer) and Landis himself as the clumsiest of the four Savak goons. It has plenty more to recommend it though - the story is exciting and has a pleasantly dizzying feel to it, although the comic/thriller tone veers sometimes (as in the scene where Harrold is murdered). It's also a photobook of eighties super-rich, with glamorous Beverly Hills locations and opulent sets by John Lloyd, all gleaming marble penthouse apartments and sky-blue swimming pool mansions. If I have one problem with the movie it's the Diana character, who is required as the backbone of the plot, but is not really very likable or interesting. It's odd that she has a whirlwind lifestyle and Ed has an incredibly boring one, but he's fascinating and she isn't - I think it's down to the actors but I'm not sure. Anyway, this is a terrific thriller, with Landis in fine form, corralling all the crazy elements of his movie together. Written by Ron Koslow, with a great wailing blues score by Ira Newborn and B.B. King. Check it out.

Ed(Jeff Goldblum), an insomniac who just found out about his wife's extramarital affair, is greeted by a frightened woman,Diana(Michelle Pfeiffer, who is simply beautiful)running from Iranians who just killed her friend. Come to find out, she had confiscated some foreign priceless stones from oversees and quite a few dangerous types, besides the Arabs(one is the director of the film John Landis and they often work collectively even eating peanuts at the same time, sitting at the same time, etc), such as a Frenchman named Melville(director Roger Vadim)& his psychotic, all-smiles hit-man named Colin(David Bowie). Diana has recently, supposedly, had a falling out with her sugar-daddy, Jack Caper(Richard Farnsworth)and hasn't nowhere else to turn once her Elvis-worshiping brother, Charlie(Bruce McGill)kicks her out of his apartment. The rest of the film has Ed and Diana stuck together, as fate would have it, going through one unusual situation after another always fleeing danger and trying to figure out how to relinquish the stones while also staying alive..and, especially from being caught by the police. There is a woman of great means, Shaheen(Irene Papas)who might be interested in the purchase of those jewels..and just might be behind those Iranians that always seem bound to wreck another apartment or home in search for those precious stones.

Unpredictable and bizarre, this film provides Landis and company an opportunity to string the viewer along with gags regarding Hollywood. The film is riddled with famous Hollywood directors in cameo roles, but my favorite scene is where Goldblum's Ed has a problem finding a place to rest up against when he awaits Diana(whose in a trailer talking to a friend)constantly crashing through props that look real. You see the setting is LA and Landis just has a field day allowing his characters to run headlong into mishap and danger at almost every turn as they slowly fall in love. What makes it work also, for me anyway, is how Goldblum dead-pans as the chaos surrounds him. The chemistry between Goldblum and Pfeiffer surprisingly gels and there's the typical Landis violent carnage that explodes in the airport towards the end. I'm sure those who know directors that were buddies of Landis, but they are the ones that'll enjoy the endless cameos.

Plenty to enjoy here in this escapist movie. Goldblum & Pfeiffer are fun in the main roles. Suspend belief and take the exciting journey that Goldblum has with Pfeiffer. Look out for the running joke with many famous directors in cameo roles. Look out for David Bowie and Carl Perkins in a knife fight (is this a metaphor for traditional rock v glam rock?). Although an escape action drama it has plenty of amusing scenes eg. the hoods eating peanuts and breaking candy with their guns.

And the title track and soundtrack by the worlds best blues guitarist -BB King.