Buddy Buddy 1981

Retirement plan and final assignment

Trabucco, a seasoned hitman, is determined to retire and schedules one final assignment. He methodically eliminates several mob witnesses to clear the path for his exit. The last target on his list is Rudy Gambola, setting the stage for the climactic hit.

Arriving at the Ramona Hotel

Trabucco checks into the Ramona Hotel in Riverside, across from the courthouse where Gambola is due to arrive. The hotel provides a vantage point for watching the impending hit. Tension escalates as the deadline draws near.

Victor Clooney moves in next door

Victor Clooney, an emotionally disturbed television censor, moves into the neighboring room. He calls his wife Celia and, after she rejects his attempts at reconciliation, he makes a desperate suicide attempt.

Trabucco agrees to accompany Victor

Fearing police attention from the courthouse, Trabucco decides to accompany Victor to quietly eliminate him. He hopes to avert any unwanted scrutiny that could jeopardize the final hit. The uneasy partnership begins to form under high-stakes pressure.

Trip to the Institute for Sexual Fulfillment

They drive to the Institute for Sexual Fulfillment, the clinic where Celia has enlisted the involvement of Dr. Hugo Zuckerbrot. The detour adds complexity to their fragile alliance and raises questions about Celia's loyalties. The visit foreshadows the tangled motives surrounding the trio.

Celia rejects Victor again; return to the hotel

Celia spurns Victor once more, and they return to the Ramona Hotel. Victor then plans to jump off the building after lighting himself on fire, revealing the depth of his desperation. Trabucco becomes entangled in the drama that surrounds his last assignment.

Accidental knock-out and care attempt

While trying to stop Victor, Trabucco knocks himself out. Victor, showing a moment of mercy, brings him back inside and tries to take care of him. The fragile alliance continues to hinge on chance and mutual survival.

Zuckerbrot's plan and the sedative injection

Zuckerbrot and Celia devise a plan to have Victor confined in a mental institution. Zuckerbrot arrives at the hotel and, mistaking Trabucco for Victor, injects him with a potent sedative. The plan to control Victor spirals further out of control.

Gambola's arrival approaches; Trabucco is groggy

With Gambola's arrival imminent, Trabucco is too groggy to pull the trigger. The grogginess prevents the completion of the intended hit and alters the trajectory of the planned execution. The window for the job closes as events unfold unpredictably.

Victor volunteers to take out Gambola

Victor volunteers to shoot Gambola to help his supposed best friend complete the hit. He succeeds, and the two escape the police after Trabucco, posing as a priest, ensures Gambola's death. Despite the partnership, Trabucco declines Victor's company and walks away alone.

Months later on a tropical island

Months pass and Trabucco retreats to a tropical island, enjoying a hard-won sense of peace. His solitude is disrupted when Victor unexpectedly joins him, bringing the old danger back into his life. The old life continues to haunt his fragile retirement.

Victor's trouble and Celia's fate

Victor explains that he is wanted by the police after blowing up Zuckerbrot's clinic. Celia has run off with Zuckerbrot's female receptionist, complicating Victor's already precarious situation. The island idyll is tarnished by their ongoing entanglements.