Hopscotch

Directed by Ronald Neame, Hopscotch follows CIA field officer Miles Kendig (Walter Matthau) as he quits his job and decides to write a tell-all book about his time with the agency – with the movie predominantly detailing Miles’ ongoing efforts at staying one step ahead of his former boss (Ned Beatty’s Myerson). Filmmaker Neame, armed with Bryan Forbes and Brian Garfield’s screenplay, delivers a deliberate yet entertaining comedy that benefits from Matthau’s perpetually affable and captivating performance, with the actor’s charming work here generally compensating for the meandering narrative’s periodic lulls and ensuring that the picture is, on the whole, probably more engaging than one might’ve anticipated. It’s clear, certainly, that Hopscotch, which is often more effective as a travelogue than as a spy movie, contains its fair share of compelling sequences, including an amusing stretch involving Kendig’s stay at Beatty’s character’s house, and yet there’s little doubt, ultimately, that the whole thing suffers from a vaguely forgettable feel that’s compounded by a slightly overlong running time – which does, in the end, cement the film’s place as a watchable, albeit unremarkable, vehicle for a solid Matthau turn (and a fairly irresistible globetrotting sensibility).

**1/2 out of ****