Simply Perfect

A Disappointing Continuation

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A good cast, James Woods in particular, and an intriguing premise were the main reasons for seeing 'Best Seller'. Seeing it a few days ago, 'Best Seller' turned out to be a good film with many great things with a few elements that bring it down somewhat.Woods himself is the film's best asset. Everything about him in 'Best Seller' is just mesmerising to watch, he epitomises cool, charisma and intensity. Brian Dennehy is dependably solid as rocks, a great performance that is more than up to Woods' level. Another reason why 'Best Seller' works as well as it does is the chemistry between Dennehy and Woods, which is electric. Paul Shenar has somewhat of a standard role but he brings an intimidating unscrupulousness that makes him effective in it. Victoria Tennant is good.'Best Seller' has a stylish and gritty visual look that makes it aesthetically pleasing. Larry Cohen takes a break from the quirky horror that he is better known for and shows that he is just as deft in thriller with a witty, intelligent and sharply observed script. John Flynn directs with the right amount of tension, keeping things at a brisk pace, not losing the effectiveness of the visual style and is pretty nifty with the action. The action is not tame, pretty hard-edged actually, neither is it gratuitous.For all 'Best Seller's' excellent things, there are short-comings. The music score is tacky and is stylistically at odds with the film. For a film that did such a good job with its atmosphere, 'Best Seller' was deserving of a much better ending than the rushed and too pat and safe one here.While a vast majority of the cast are fine, there is one exception...that exception is a rather annoying Alison Balson.Overall, a good film that sells well. 7/10 Bethany Cox

'Best Seller' is A Well-Acted Film! Lead Stars James Woods & Brian Dennehy pitch in great performances. 'Best Seller' tells the story of A career hit-man, who wants to turn his life story into a book written by a veteran police officer and best-selling author.'Best Seller' is an above-average film. Its got an interesting premise & it manages to hold your attention in the first-hour. The second-hour dips considerably & even the culmination to this story, is plain ordinary. The Screenplay is a mixed bag. John Flynn's Direction is good.James Woods & Brian Dennehy are the life of 'Best Seller'. Woods is fantastic as the hit-man, while Dennehy is matured as the veteran cop/author. Their on-screen chemistry is electric, as well.On the whole, 'Best Seller' is packed with decent merits.

Best Seller is directed by John Flynn and written by Larry Cohen. It stars James Woods, Brian Dennehy and Victoria Tennant. Music is by Jay Ferguson and cinematography by Fred Murphy. Cop Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) survives being shot during a robbery at the police evidence storage and writes a well received book about the events. Years later he's widowed, raising his daughter on his own and suffering from writers block as he tries to write another novel. Into his life comes Cleve (Woods), a mysterious man who saves Meechum's life and announces that he is a paid assassin and wishes Meechum to write a book about his work for a top name in industry......Only in America Dennis.It's a lovely hook is this, a cop and a killer paired together, their relationship explored via an uneasy buddy buddy formula, where the fruits of their partnership will bring very differing rewards. Along with the crackerjack turns from Dennehy (lovable burn-out) and Woods (cold-blooded calm), it's the smart screenplay from Cohen that makes Best Seller worthy of a rental at least. How it is going to pan out always keeps one interested in the tale, while there's clearly some snarky observations on America's lust for capital gain. Violence flits in and out to add some bloody pulp to proceedings, but ultimately it's the dialogue, the suspicious mood crafted by Flynn and characterisations that give the film its vitality.Released in the same year as Lethal Weapon, it appears that Best Seller got lost in the slip-stream of that higher octane fuelled picture (in fact Dennehy gets to say the same "too old for this" line that Glover trademarked in Lethal Weapon). It's not on a par with Donner's movie, and it's far from perfect; the ending is a bit tamer than we would perhaps like and Paul Shenar's villain is a standard suit job, but there's good craft here on the page and on both sides of the camera. 7/10

1987's "Best Seller" is not my type of movie, I'll say up front, as it's a little too violent. I do like Larry Cohen, who wrote the script, and the casting of Brian Dennehy and James Woods is great. Woods plays an assassin for hire who approaches cop/author Dennehy about doing an expose about his work for a new book. He claims to have been in the pay of a corporate mogul (Paul Shenar) with a gleaming public image, so the material is explosive. The only problem is, is Woods for real or a whack job? Dennehy seeks to find out.This was one of Paul Shenar's last films. Shenar, a handsome man with a magnificent voice, died of complications due to AIDS in 1989. His role in this film is, alas, too small.This isn't a big film, but if you can stand the blood and violence, you'll enjoy it, as it's a good cast.