Tin Men

Tilley (Danny DeVito (Batman Returns)) and BB (Richard Dreyfuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)) get into a car accident.  Each claims the other is at fault and so a feud begins.  They try to get back at each other by smashing their rival’s cars with some success.  But then BB takes it a step further by sleeping with Tilley’s wife Nora (Barbara Hershey (Falling Down, Black Swan)).  He thinks that’ll end it but the thing is they end up falling in love.

That’s the general story.  There’s a bunch more going on during all of this.  Tilley and BB sell aluminum siding (the shit you cover the outside of a house with; somewhere along the way I think vinyl replaced the aluminum).  They’re scam artists though that use gimmicks in order to sell their product.  Apparently few people are actually interested in covering their house in aluminum.  BB pretends to be from Life magazine and tells the homeowner that their house could be in an issue if they put the siding on.  Tilley gives jobs away for free and then has his partner go in later to give a bullshit story about how Tilley’s boss will fire him if he gets wind of this and that he’ll be thrown out onto the street.  In effect they guilt the guy into buying the siding.

These numbers that the salesmen pull are illegal and the Home Improvement Commission has just been set up in order to stop this type of behavior.  The threat of getting caught and having their licenses to sell aluminum siding taken away looms constantly throughout the picture.  Tilley also has to contend with the IRS because he didn’t pay his taxes.  So there’s a whole shit storm coming down on these guys, although Tilley is definitely getting it worse.

What’s so great about this film is that the characters and most of the dialogue feel real.  These are just some working class folks that are trying to earn a living and stay afloat as best they can.  The stress that life piles on is enormous and you can understand why BB and Tilley act a little crazy.  It’s amazing how Barry Levinson can make even the most mundane conversations engaging and also pretty funny (the scene where Nora and Tilley argue about going on a picnic is a good example).  You can imagine having or overhearing these exchanges on any given day in real life.

DeVito and Dreyfuss were cast perfectly in their roles too.  Tilley is the low man on the totem pole struggling to get traction with his sales and Devito fits that description just based on looks.  He’s a bit of an imbecile, a touch pathetic, can be a little hot headed and never thinks he wrong.  But Tilley isn’t that bad of a guy really.  Sure he’s kinda scummy in the way he sells aluminum siding but his life is falling apart and so naturally he doesn’t take it well.  It’s almost justified, almost.  DeVito is able to go from raging lunatic to amiable everyman so easily.  I think this is the best I’ve ever seen him. 

BB shares many of the same characteristics as Tilley but he’s more successful, at least financially.  Where Tilley struggles to sell siding BB has no trouble with it at all.  If he’s talking to you for longer than two minutes then he’s gonna somehow make you think that you need that damn siding.  He’s a bit of a loner and a big time ladies man.  He sleeps with a different woman every night and never got attached.  When he falls for Nora he has to adjust his life and that’s tough for him.  But like Tilley he always thinks he’s right, he’s not the smartest guy you ever saw, he’s hot headed and a little pathetic because he can’t let go of this grudge with some guy. 

Dreyfuss pulls off this character in such a way that you might not realize he’s essentially the same as Tilley.  I didn’t even realize it myself until I started writing this thing up.  Dreyfuss can go from enraged to charming instantly like DeVito.  He also gives BB a certain ruthlessness that you can tell Tilley doesn’t have and maybe this is what has made BB more financially successful.  Again, like DeVito I think this is Dreyfuss’ best performance.  As much as I love Jaws BB is a more nuanced character than Hooper or even Roy from Close Encounters.  BB loves having sex with lots of women but realizes he wants to settle down, he loves selling aluminum siding but is thinking about getting out of it, he wants to get even with Tilley but knows it won’t end well, etc.  You can tell he’s thinking the same thing the audience is sometimes but just can’t help acting like a jerk anyway.

Entire films could’ve been made about each of these characters.  Both sides of this story are equally fascinating and appealing.  To put the two together is risky because you might not think each gets an appropriate amount of time to tell their side.  But intertwining the stories only paints a stronger picture overall.  Having these two interact with each other is important to the development of the characters and the plot.  To see both sides simultaneously shows how silly the situation is and turns dramatic events like a car accident, an ongoing intense dispute and a love triangle into humorous ones.       

The whole movie is very endearing and funny without trying that hard.  It all flows so organically and somehow manages to pull off a heartwarming ending even when Tilley is at his lowest point.  You have faith that these two may have finally stopped going at each other’s throats and could possibly be friends.

Even though this takes place in 1963 Baltimore the story is timeless.  You could have any type of salesmen in any time period and it would work.  But at the same time this film also works as a tribute to the early 60’s and to the now extinct profession of the door to door aluminum siding salesman.  There’s one eye on the past and one eye on the future (the Home Improvement Commission) and they work harmoniously together to give you a great snapshot as well as an enduring tale of love, revenge, downfall and eventually contentment.

It’s a shame that this one got swept under the carpet ‘cause I really love it.