The American Success Company

Jeff Bridges stars in this very humorous story about a guy who is considered to be a loser by his wife, his boss (his father-in-law), and everyone who knows him. He decides to change his life, and become the man he has always wanted to be.

I saw this at SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) and it was brilliant. I saw it later on TV and it was awful.

The heart and intention of and for this movie are nothing but good, but ultimately it fails in a script that starts smart but becomes, as the movie progresses, not only flawed but terribly disjointed. Add to this that some of the acting is far to hammy, and some scenes entirely too stagey and contrived.

I saw the American Success Company on cable in the 1982-1983 timeframe. I'm going to give a brief summary as I remember the movie.

The "American Success Company" (AKA "Good as Gold" or "The Ringer"). It was later re-edited slightly and titled "American Success".

After collecting five VHS tapes titled "Good as Gold" I was fortunate enough to purchase "American Success" also on VHS. I can personally vouch that nearly every detail is the same as "Good as Gold" also known as "the Ringer".

An amusing premise, but ultimately not believable enough (even in a movie) to really enjoy. I suppose the actors all did as well as possible considering the material.