Gloria (1980) Movie Review

John Cassavetes made some iffy movies during his career, but none is worse than the original Gloria, one of many films made with with his wife Gena Rowlands and proving that even her natural charm and ability can't muster its way through one of the worst stories ever told. Straight out of a Hallmark card comes this story of a pistol-totin' bad mama who protects a little Puerto Rican kid on the streets of New York from the hands of the mob. This movie is so saccharine and at the same time ridiculous that it's impossible to take seriously. And yet it goes on and on and on for over two hours. Appalling.