Alison Kerr's verdict: four stars
Hollywood came to the Armadillo last night when movie superstar Al Pacino appeared onstage to look back at his 50-year career in the company of Glaswegians with a spare £75 or two. As he walked onstage following a rousing montage of clips from many of his 50-odd films, the tousle-haired septuagenarian Jack Sparrow lookalike was met with a standing ovation from an audience of very vocal and very cinema-savvy fans.
The obligatory Glasgow "We love you!" welcome was met with "Hoo-ha ... HOO-HA!" from the charismatic Pacino, referring to the catchphrase he coined during his Oscar-winning portrayal of the randy former army officer character in Scent of a Woman.
This wasn't - as one might have expected - a one-man show, however. This was Pacino in conversation and he was interviewed firstly by journalist Billy Sloan who set him up to talk about his impoverished, tough childhood, about the art of acting and, of course, to go through the interviewer's favourite Pacino films.
Whenever the opportunity arose, Pacino jumped to his feet to enact something or, in one case, sing. But the interview format seemed to rein him in a little.
Unfortunately, the evening ended on a cringeful note - when the interviewing was handed over to the audience. While the rest of the crowd either brayed noisily or squirmed with embarrassment, a string of punters either named-dropped ("I was talking to Jay Leno in LA last week..") or made inappropriate personal requests ("Can you say 'rest in peace' for my dad who died last week?").
Their "questions" may have shed no light on the great man's life or career, but his answers showed that he could handle even the most annoying Glaswegian with terrific humour and grace.
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