Lucky Lady (1975) - Donen

Plot:A trio of rum-runners during prohibition in the 1930s engage in a menage-a-trois after business hours.
Stars: Gene Hackman, Burt Reynolds, Lisa Minnelli
Best Quote:  Its an over-produced, under-thought-out production. A nervous little sparrow of a movie that has been pumped up to the size of a peacock and outfitted accordingly. It's ridiculous without the compensation of being funny or fun - New York Times

In 1976, Lucky Lady was a critical flop but did good box office, earning $24 million on a $12 million budget. Today, it has a miserable 5.2 IMDB rating and only 955 reviews. Ouch.

Is it that bad? Not really - but it hasn't aged well. Its an unfunny comedy, full of action scenes shot by a musical director. with the least sexy actress of all time - Liza Minnelli.

The abrupt mood changes will jolt you out of your seat.
 In the first hour, we get 20 minutes of "A-team" cartoon violence. Bullets fly everywhere, trucks/boats explode - but its all played for pratfalls and laughs. And then - out of nowhere - we get brutal, serious murders. But  the serious tone goes away quickly and the whole thing ends with a comic/action Sea battle - complete with "This is really funny" background music. Say what?

The Main Problem is the Script
Isn't it always? We're given no reason to care about the characters, other than they're small time crooks fighting the bigger crooks. And there's no real plot.  Pratfalls and slapstick substitute for wit, so its up to the actors to make up for it and they fail.  Minnelli can't do anything with her abrasive, boorish character, and she looks awful.  Meanwhile, Hackman has no feel  for comedy.  Only Reynolds improves his lines, but he's defeated by the lack of ensemble chemistry.    

But the Direction is terrible too
Donen shows he's no Sam Peckinpah as an Action director,  the musical score is awful, and there's a weird hazy look to the whole  thing.  Evidently, the film was "flashed" and it looks ugly. We also get a  huge Art Deco Hotel set which looks phony as hell. The biggest misfire was placing Liza in a strawberry blond wig. She looks like a monkey instead of a femme fatale.

No wonder Donen's authorized biography skips the film entirely.

Summary:  When Liza starts singing a frowzy fake-cynical Kander/Ebb song, and wearing a Harpo Marx wig, we know we're watching a flop - and that's four minutes in. Given the talent involved, the movies badness is surprising.