Keys to Tulsa
| Keys to Tulsa | |
|---|---|
 original film poster | |
| Directed by | Leslie Greif |
| Produced by |
Leslie Greif Harley Peyton |
| Written by | Harley Peyton |
| Starring |
Eric Stoltz James Spader Deborah Kara Unger James Coburn Joanna Going Michael Rooker Randy Graff Mary Tyler Moore Peter Strauss Cameron Diaz |
| Music by | Stephen Endelman |
| Cinematography | Robert Fraisse |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 113 mins |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $57,252 |
Keys to Tulsa is a 1997 film directed by Leslie Greif, and starring Eric Stoltz and James Spader. It is based on the novel of the same name by Brian Fair Berkey.
Plot
The story revolves around a perpetual loser and slacker named Richter Boudreau (Eric Stoltz). Richter is from a privileged background in Tulsa, Oklahoma and works as a movie reviewer at a local newspaper only because his sour mother Cynthia (Mary Tyler Moore) pulled strings for him to land the job. He is dissatisfied with the direction that his life has taken; his girlfriend Trudy (Cameron Diaz) had just broken up with him after another disastrous date, he is about to be fired from his job because he can't meet deadlines, he lives in a dilapidated farmhouse, he uses and sells drugs behind the scenes for some extra cash, and he is so irresponsible with life in which he has gotten so far behind on his bills that his electricity has just been cut off.
Richter also owes money to Ronnie Stover (James Spader), an abusive drug dealer who he deals with. Ronnie is married to Vicky (Deborah Kara Unger), a beautiful woman who was disowned by her socially prominent family for her involvement with Ronnie. Richter is still in love with Vicky despite having ended their relationship many years before. Vicky is the sister of Keith (Michael Rooker), a misogynistic alcoholic whose large inheritance fails to soothe his anger, loneliness, and depression. Cherry (Joanna Going) is an exotic dancer from Chicago who buys drugs from Ronnie and gets romantically involved with Richter.
Ronnie plans to blackmail Bedford Shaw (Marco Perella), the son of a socially prominent businessman named Harmon Shaw (James Coburn), after Cherry tells him that Shaw murdered her friend, a stripper/prostitute, in a motel room and that she took photographs. Ronnie attempts to involve Richter by having him hold on to a mysterious black pouch and by exploiting Richter's newspaper connections. Richter wants no part of the blackmail scheme. But he gets in over his head when Keith discovers that Richter has been sleeping with Vicky.
Principal Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Eric Stoltz | Richter Boudreau |
| James Spader | Ronnie Stover |
| Deborah Kara Unger | Vicky Michaels Stover |
| Joanna Going | Cherry |
| Michael Rooker | Keith Michaels |
| Randy Graff | Louise Brinkman |
| Mary Tyler Moore | Cynthia Boudreau |
| James Coburn | Harmon Shaw |
| Peter Strauss | Chip Carlson |
| Cameron Diaz | Trudy |
| Marco Perella | Bedford Shaw |
| Dennis Letts | Preston Liddy |
| Josh Ridgway | Billy Boudreau |