David Denby

“Atlantic City, an elegy for losers … is sweet, funny, and affectionate, but there’s not much narrative or poetic drive in it….

“In the apartment next to lou lives Sally (Susan Sarandon), a selfish, hustling waitress at an oyster bar, not terribly bright; eager to hang on to any man who can help her get ahead. A refugee from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan…, Sally is a common-place goddess—a shallow bitch transformed into divinity by the adoring eyes of Lou….

“…. All the characters are limited to their one idea—they are walking idées fixes….

“…. Guare sets up comic situations … but Malle deson’t seem to find the laughs in them. Instead he falls into trances over Susan Sarandon: That golden chest is unveiled three times, and the camera stays in close, scene after scene, as she charmlessly tries to act avid, lost, and dumb. Visually, the whole movie is mediocre…. The only thing I really enjoyed was Burt Lancaster’s performance….

David Denby
New York, April 6, 1981

Postscript. In Tempest a year later, Sarandon is again “an ordinary goddess”, but here it’s a compliment; “she’s lovely and soft, tanned and spectacularly full-bodied; she’s the earthiest of comediennes…” New York, August 16, 1982