magazine praised the film for its exaggerated kitsch style. He also believed the role of Preston Tucker to be Jeff Bridges' best performance. Janet Maslin from The New York Times agreed, writing that Coppola, known for his dark approach on his previous films, "found the directorial range to actually make a feel-good movie". In addition, Desson Thomson, writing in The Washington Post, called the film a "satisfying commercial breakthrough for Coppola" and praised the cinematography of Vittorio Storaro, as well as the ubiquitous approach for Dean Stockwell's cameo appearance as Howard Hughes. Roger Ebert gave a mixed review. "Preston Tucker lacks an ounce of common sense or any notion of the real odds against him. And since the movie never really deals with that – never really comes to grips with Tucker's character – it begins as a saga but ends in whimsy." Although Coppola enjoyed his working relationship with Lucas, he commented in a July 1988 The New York Times interview with Robert Lindsey that "I think it's a good movie - it's eccentric, a little wacky, like the Tucker car – but it's not the movie I would have made at the height of my power." Coppola was able to stoically accept the critical and commercial reaction to Tucker: The Man and His Dream. "Every time in my career I tried to make, dare I say it, an art film, it never did well." Despite helming his "labor of love", Coppola was insistent that Tucker: The Man and His Dream would be his last Hollywood project. He reiterated a long-held dream of his own, embarking on a "period of amateurism and experimentation as a Hollywood dropout". One unexpected effect of the film's release was a renewed interest in the Tucker automobile and a boost in the collector's value of the Tucker 48; in a 2008 auction, a low-mileage example topped the $1 million mark. Awards and nominations References Notes Citations Bibliography Baxter, John. Mythmaker: The Life and Work of George Lucas. New York: Spike Books, 1999. . Cheetham Craig, ed. American Cars: The Automobiles That Made America. Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange Books, 2004. . Cheetham Craig. The World's Worst Cars. From Pioneering Failures To Multimillion Dollar Disasters. London: Amber Books, 2005. . Coppola, Eleanor. Notes on a Life. New York: Nan A. Talese, 2008. . "Company News: Roll Over, DeLorean; Shaky Attempt to Honor A Failed 40's Car