Keys to Tulsa

The Keys to Tulsa: (1997) Ok gang, how many of you have even heard of this little potboiler, let alone seen it? With a well known cast, somewhat complicated plot, and interesting characters, you would have thought it would have made a bigger splash when it snuck onto the screen in 97. Starring Eric Stoltz, James Spader, Debra Unger, and Joanna Going, it also has many smaller parts littered with excellent actors such as; James Coburn, Mary Tyler Moore, Cameron Diaz, and Peter Strauss. The recently issued DVD has little on it other than the movie and some stills of the cast and crew. It is not even in wide screen and has only 2.0 Dolby stereo, however it is definitely worth a rent. It is really a murky morality tale about redemption and believe me; most of the characters in this tale are in need of redemption. The story concerns a black sheep son of a wealthy Tulsa family who returns home to find his old world is worse off than when he left it. The plot enmeshes characters from the richest country clubs to the sordid world of strip clubs. (You know, all these types of movies seem to end up in a strip club. Is this a plot device to ensure an R rating you think?) If there is a weak spot in the plot, it is the ‘stripper with a heart of gold’ which seems to be a given in far too many movies. Our stripper here is more gold plated than solid gold since she is almost always under the influence of some sort of liquid or powder if you get my drift and I think you do. However, with crosscurrents, undercurrents, undertow, and stuff like that, the movie bounces along and builds to a somewhat unexpected conclusion. As you can guess, I liked this movie, it didn’t promise anything and delivered quite a lot. Not a great movie but better than most and complicated enough to keep you paying attention. The movie is rated R for: nudity (well, one scene was in a strip club, so what do you expect), drug sniffing, questionable morals of almost everyone in the cast, whacko rich guy, whacko mom, armed whacko, Unger sweat, poorly engineered party dress top, and excessive champagne spillage by a minor.