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Ishtar, a Hope and Crosby Road To-inspired screwball comedy, written and directed by Elaine May, premieres in New York. Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman star as two mediocre, New York-based Simon and Garfunkle wannabes whose singing gig at a Moroccan hotel gets sidetracked when they become unwitting pawns in a Cold War political imbroglio between the CIA and a local guerilla group plotting the overthrow of the Emir of the neighbouring country of Ishtar. A critical and commercial disaster that failed to recoup even half its inflated fifty million dollar budget, time and a new generation has since put a more positive spin on the film's sullied credentials by labeling it as one of May's most underappreciated gems. Charles Grodin, Isabelle Adjani and Jack Weston round out the cast.
