Heartbreakers (1984)

I was looking for an old Peter Coyote movie called Paint It Black. Did I imagine that one? Never did find it, but I came upon this one that is full of 1980s sound and style. Peter Coyote is in his prime of handsomeness as (Arthur) Blue, a thirty-five year old struggling artist who makes large paintings of fetish model, Candy Cane (Carole Wayne), reminiscent Betty Page. He lives in a stark white L.A. loft (complete with mattress on the floor and Laurie Anderson poster in the kitchen) with Cyd (Kathryn Harrold), who supports them with her steady job in commercial art until she begins wanting more...such as a bed. She pleads with him "you have to live in the world in order to be an artist" and soon takes up with a successful painter, Chuck (Max Gail), who actually "lives like a grown-up." In Blue's opinion, the man is a whore who sells pretty decorative art.

Losing Cyd sparks Blue to look more seriously at his work. He quits his job working the graveyard shift at a porn printshop where he runs the press, determined to find success as a painter. His persistance lands him a show at the T. Ray Gallery, with just six weeks to produce twelve large paintings. The movie centers around his life as a painter and his friendship with Eli, who runs the family garment business. We learn that it was Eli who was first to date Cyd...it seems that sooner or later the women end up with Blue. Eli falls in love with the gallery assistant, Liliane (Carole Laure), who is never quite available for the kind of romance Eli hopes for. Blue tries to win back Cyd with his new gallery success. There is a lot to this story beside the L.A. attractiveness. There are a lot of nightclub scenes...men on the prowl, sexy dancing to 1980s techno pop...jeaousy and fierce competion. In the end, though, it is the men in this film who truly support one another.