486 Ratings

Hopscotch

United States, 1980

Comedy, Thriller

Synopsis

One of the CIA’s top international operatives, Miles Kendig suddenly finds himself relegated to a desk job in an agency power play. Unwilling to go quietly, Kendig writes a memoir exposing the innermost secrets of every major intelligence agency in the world.

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Hopscotch Directed by Ronald Neame

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Awards & Festivals

Writers Guild of America

1981 | Nominee: Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium (Screen)

Golden Globes (USA)

1981 | Nominee: Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Edgar Allan Poe Awards

1981 | Nominee: Best Motion Picture

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Cast & Crew

Critics reviews

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it’s the film’s small, spontaneous touches that are most gratifying. Neame and Matthau render an iconic image out of the sight of Kendig hunched in a chair hunting and pecking at his memoir on a typewriter, listening to the music of Mozart (which provides tongue-in-cheek commentary throughout). Like Marlow’s, Kendig’s smugness is likeable because it isn’t larded with self-justification, which is one of many differences in sensibility that separates him from Meyerson.

Chuck Bowen

August 17, 2017

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Neame’s touch is brisk and bouncy as Kendig goes globe-trotting, tapping out an incendiary memoir on a portable typewriter and needling Myerson to the point that the aspiring tyrant orders Cutter to kill his former partner. He relishes the comedy but also makes the viewer aware of the danger of what Kendig is doing.

Glenn Kenny

August 15, 2017

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It has the distinction of being the only “feel-good” realistic spy film ever made. As the movie walks a fine line between serious drama and satirical comedy, and between topicality and escapism, it beguiles the viewer with its sophistication and complexity. The most surprising aspect of Hopscotch, however, may not be how well it walks that tightrope, but that its makers accomplished this balancing act in an era that saw the spy movie genre reduced to tales of relentless despair.

Bruce Eder

August 19, 2002

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What are people saying?

Mark Tallo's rating of the film Hopscotch
Mark Tallo

A really fun movie.
November 25, 2015 22:20
- 2
- 0
Nick Potter's rating of the film Hopscotch
Nick Potter

Hopscotch is a delightfully witty spy story that doesn't quite stoop to Austin Powers-esque spoof levels. Neame solidly directs the charming script, but the biggest success of this film is the ever-lovable Walter Matthau, putting in one of his greatest performances. The supporting cast of Sam Waterston, Ned Beatty, and Glenda Jackson help bounce off of Matthau. Hopscotch is definitely too funny to be so overlooked.
January 24, 2019 18:11
- 2
- 0
Alexander Miller's rating of the film Hopscotch
Alexander Miller

This is great fun, one of Matthau's best performances, and possibly the most unlikely spy film ever made.
October 30, 2015 15:02
- 2
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Ryan's rating of the film Hopscotch
Ryan

A very enjoyable, whimsical spy story. It only occasionally delves into the destabilizing and bumbling history of the CIA, but it does so enough to provide some tension and remind us of the very real stakes involved. The pacing is on-point, and the execution of Kendig's schemes fit the light-hearted theme just fine. Rounded up to 5 because it superbly told the story it wanted to tell, while being delightfully fun!
January 24, 2019 18:10
- 3
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AKFilmFan's rating of the film Hopscotch
AKFilmFan

Pleasant and relaxed spy story that is mainly worth seeing for Matthau's performance.
August 27, 2012 05:03
- 2
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Wee Hunk's rating of the film Hopscotch
Wee Hunk

MUBI, you know we watch these movies closely. Why would you give us one that had all the curse words dubbed out? This is the TV version sanitized for our delicate ears. It's still a very good movie.
October 25, 2015 21:26
- 1
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mjgildea's rating of the film Hopscotch
mjgildea

God, I love Walter Matthau in this. Between his performance and the constant needling of Ned Beatty's character through a series of hilarious screw-jobs Hopscotch is an unsung classic. It would be one of those underwhelmingly dull and actionless old man spy movies, but the comedic element really brought it to life.
January 24, 2019 17:46
- 3
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Christopher R. Smith's rating of the film Hopscotch
Christopher R. Smith

Only modestly entertaining espionage comedy from director Ronald Neame is too easy-going to work as a spy thriller, and the humor is too slight to really work as a comedy. Walter Matthau is always entertaining, and he's backed by a great supporting cast that includes Glenda Jackson, Ned Beatty, Sam Waterston, and Herbert Lom - the cast manages to make it watchable, but not really memorable.
January 24, 2019 14:59
- 3
- 0