Completely innocent man, Michael Jordon, is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later murdered, Michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run. (from IMDb)

I know, I know. I'm sure most reading this review are more shocked to find a movie on here being reviewed called Hanky Panky than have actual interest in the film -- and that's totally understandable. But given its Hitchcockian style and accessible rating (aside from the fact that it was specifically serviced to us for review purposes), it seemed reasonable to check out Gene Wilder's 1982 screwball thriller, Hanky Panky.

So what is Hanky Panky, really, then? (I can almost hear season 2 Jerry Seinfeld exasperating, "I can't believe I'm even saying 'hanky panky!'") Honestly, I believe its title use is more tongue-in-cheek than anything. The story is entirely an absurd mistaken-identity comedic thriller in which Gene Wilder plays a hapless bystander named Michael Jordon (ha!) who ends up in the cab with a woman who is on the run from some questionable characters, trying to deliver a sensitive package. The earnest and flirtatious Michael offers to drop the package in the mail for this woman, instantly becoming involved in the governmental affair. And when he bumps into the woman at a hotel later, he's caught with her murdered body in his arms and suddenly he's the prime suspect. He then soon meets Gilda Radner's Kate Hellman who accompanies him in an effort to get to the bottom of the mystery and clear his name.

Surprisingly directed by Sidney Poitier, the film opens curiously with a man deliriously waking up in his room in front of a mural on his wall, walking outside to a barn, and then hanging himself. The next scene then shows a man being poisoned, and you're quickly wondering how exactly this could be a comedy. But once Wilder comes into the picture and is swiftly caught up in the mess, things lighten up considerably. It's very much a sillier take on North By Northwest or The Man Who Knew Too Much, but never as good as either of those. Wilder's unhinged and spastic line deliveries and tirades are humorous, but I couldn't help but think, while watching him freak out, that this role would have been better suited for Martin Short (Innerspace, anyone?). Still, Wilder is charming and amusing enough here to carry the film - even if it never really rises above B-movie status.

When Wilder and Radner team up, the movie feels like it has a better vibe, so when Radner is temporarily removed from the picture for a good portion of the last act, it starts to lose steam -- even though the plot is trying to up the stakes and introduce some "action." The movie works best when it's smaller and mysterious, but as the curtain slowly gets peeled back, it kind of loses its momentum. (And let's be honest; there's a reason why you've probably never heard of this movie before.) Since this was an early-80's thriller, and not exactly deemed a classic, I had not seen this one before, but now I know why.

Don't let the early-80's PG rating fool you; Hanky Panky would be rated PG-13 by today's standards. There's a single use of the "F" word, almost 10 uses of the "S" word, and then plenty of other colorful language scattered throughout, including several uses of Jesus' name in vain -- by Wilder, especially. It feels off for a movie that seems like a 60's throwback more than an 80's effort, too. The opening scene where the guy hangs himself is shown quickly, but we briefly see him hanging after he jumps off the ledge, eyes frozen wide in death. There are a couple rough fight sequences - the most startling being an older man roughly punching and tossing around a woman. And after said woman is shot, we see some blood on her mouth and clothing. There is some other violence, but the rest of it is without blood shown. An explosion in the finale claims the lives of some bad guys, but nothing is shown graphically. We also briefly see a man lying dead in his apartment with his eyes frozen open, which may be unsettling to some viewers. There isn't much by way of sexual content, but when Michael is trying to escape a thug, the camera zooms all the way in on a fit woman's leotard-clad butt a couple times, which we see Michael grab and then tell the victim it was the thug who did it (which of course gets the bad guy punched in the face, enabling Michael to get away). There's a brief scene showing Michael and Kate kissing and him nuzzling her neck, but it ends quickly, and a later scene shows them waking up fully clothed in the same bed, with it not being clear if anything else had happened.

Not exactly a classic, Hanky Panky is an average thriller in the style of Hitchcock that never quite lives up to its potential. It has its moments, definitely, and Wilder and Radner definitely have chemistry, but this genre has been done much better previously (and since), making Hanky Panky feel more superfluous viewing than essential.

The blu-ray for the 1982 comedy, Hanky Panky, is available now. Sadly, there are no special features and, curiously, no digital copy either. But the picture quality of the film is really, really good - especially for 1982. Fans shouldn't be disappointed with this transfer.