Mailer's movie needs to be rediscovered

Saw TOUGH GUYS DON'T DANCE in the theatre and later on VHS. I think it's a classic film waiting to be re-discovered. When it was released, the critics didn't seem to understand Mailer's level of satire. Director Mailer played the most outrageous aspects of the story straight, so there was never that wink to the viewer telegraphing intention or response. John Bailery's camera supported this approach with a cold, detached visual style. Most of the men in this story are characterized in one form or another by a kind of macho posturing. Mailer, just as in the novel, has tongue firmly in cheek, but allows the noirish action to speak for itself. Despite what's said about Ryan O'Neal's "Oh, God, Oh, Man" moment, I think this is one of the last great performances he's given. Perfectly cast, the young man we remember in LOVE STORY and all the rest ends up in this lonely landscape, stagnant, drunk, and so worn out he can barely move. Lawrence Tierney, a big bull waylaid by cancer and regret, deadpans, "I just deep-sixed three heads" in a moment that's both surreal and terribly human. Wings Hauser's on camera stroke alone should have earned him an Oscar nomination. I remember when it came out, some critics considered the film a Norman Mailer vanity production. But I ask you, vanity or not, could anyone but a true director pull off the delicately disarming moment when Wardley commits suicide? This is a great, great movie.