Hot Dogs for Gauguin (1972) User Reviews

Martin Brest's student film - very funny

[pemmitt · 8/10 · 29 June 2000]

This is Martin Brest's student film from NYU and it stars Danny DeVito as an aspiring photographer who plots to blow-up the Statue of Liberty so he can take an award winning picture of it. This film is extremely funny - if you get the chance to see it I highly recommend it. (B&W, 15 minutes)

Very Original

[the_mad_mckenna · 8/10 · 30 December 2003]

I saw this in a college filmmaking class - the instructor had attended NYU with Brest - and it's a fantastic comedy, with a young Danny Devito as a hairbrained photographer trying to make a mint on a photo as famous as the one of the Hindenburg going down by staging one - in this case, blowing up the statue of liberty. It's a riot and worth seeing (though I don't know how you would)!

Fun film, marking the beginning of multiple talents!

[freelancelot · 9/10 · 3 September 2007]

I would agree with other comments! I saw it while a film student at NYU. The film showed a clever beginning to more-than-one career, including being Danny DeVito's first film. It was totally fun.

The subtlety of DeVito's reaction shots and the sheet physicality of how he carries himself in the film were clues to what his future life-in-film would be. DeVito was able then as he is now to play comedy in a tragic setting were impressive. He also managed to be likable, despite some of the things we was cooking up in the film.

Though it is a short film, it deserves a retrospective and/or some type of visibility on the Web. I hope there is a way people can watch it in the future!

A starving photographer - DeVito - deploys an expansive get-rich scheme against the advice of a besotted schoolteacher.

[eidolon57 · 2 December 2012]

Hot Dogs was a student film, yet the quality of cinematography, comic timing in both performance and editing, and it's maniacal theme set this movie apart. It launched the careers of both Danny DeVito and Martin Brest, and any Hollywood scout would instantly see why. The construction of the film provides a world and it's characters through subtle cues and implications. "Fleeetcheeeer," defines the friendship of the two main characters, while the introductory stalking and fruit thievery delineate the anti-hero's personality through behavior rather than narrative. There is a lot of story, and surprising tension, in this very compact film. The climax is quite formalistic, but highly effective, delivering a punch that is expected, yet unbelievable when it happens. The bookending punchline is delivered with wonderful effect, in classic mousetrap style. Technically, it adheres to the logic of the invisible observer, playing out like a recollection from the afterlife of one of the characters. But please take care when viewing, as it is not politically correct in the moment. Caution: Genius at work!