i must have seen a different film!!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

From the beginning of the movie, you think the leading characters are dummies. It is obvious that something wrong with the tennant. Let's pass it, when you're watching the scene that when the police officer comes for the first time; it is impossible for him to say that lines in real life! The tennant has no right to change the locks. Also, if there is no lease, how can he be "legally tennant"? That question follows you through the whole movie, and it ruins the movie.

Pacific Heights has characters - at least in the male leads - who are unlikable and/or are rather underdeveloped. To be sure, John Schlesinger casting Michael Keaton was a smart move: the man has screen charisma to burn, certainly at that time in 1989/1990, when he was hot off his two most iconic performances (Batman/Beetlejuice, both hard not to quote at times during this movie when those characters got at their most crazed). But I wonder what the thought was with Matthew Modine; I couldn't tell whether he was mis-cast, or if the part as just crummy. In any case, Modine and Melanie Griffith are boyfriend/girlfriend, expecting a baby, and with a new house right in the heart of San Francisco that they need to rent out some levels to. Due to a misunderstanding they miss out on the Nice Black Guy (darn, there goes his application down the stairs, and another plot device) and instead get Keaton's Carter Hayes as a tenant.But oh, what about the lease, or the rent? The mind games start immediately, and that's kind of a problem with the story. If the screenwriter took a little time to develop this man as somewhat of a threat, maybe make him interesting at first, perhaps even relatable, then gradually turn the screws in a gaslight fashion on these landlords, the suspense would be more palpable. As it is, Carter is basically a nut almost from minute one, and while one would think the audience should be on the Happy-But-Not-Now couple's side, Drake's reaction is that of super-high hysterics. He yells, he curses, he's played at level-11 in a manner that it's no wonder Carter can get the upper hand on this couple. Oh, and then there's the rather extreme things done to the place to make it foreclose-able: drills late at night, cockroach breeding to infestate, and other creepy moments.In other words, Pacific Heights is not one for subtlety. This doesn't mean the movie isn't entertaining on a completely trashy, sort of tasteless level. Scene after scene shows things getting worse for the good guys while the 'bad' guy gets away with this. And yet, this is in Planet Movie Land that he's doing this. So many questions get raised that the audience just has to accept when it comes to the laws regarding how a tenant can f*** with the landords and visa-versa; doesn't a, I don't know, LEASE have some major factor here? At first I couldn't figure out what Carter's game was, though once I realized it (and thanks to a double check via Ebert's review) it got clearer about this man's plot of divide, foreclose and conquer. And yet... who IS this antagonist? There are parts given some clarity in the third act, and it does start to get better as the proverbial tables get turned. And actually Griffith and Keaton turn in excellent performances, for what they're given to do. But the film has the subtlety of a baleen hammer, and the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer makes it pretty damn dated (moody saxophone, anyone?) I think there's a lot of potential with this sort of idea of one man entering a couple's life and making it into a living hell; right now in theaters we have The Gift by Joel Edgerton, which is a much more clever update of this kind of premise, though mostly because things make logical sense with the plot. A lot happens in this movie, at least it feels that way in the first hour, but the main characters either act clueless or rather stupidly, with Carter as this weird psycho without any explanation. This isn't to say everything should've been spelled out, but a little more character clarity on the part of Carter - or a more gradual progression of the character mechanics - might have made it a legitimately good movie.As it is, Pacific Heights is at best a guilty pleasure, a flick that's not dated well but certainly has a lot of fun moments in watching these actors play these sorta-yuppies in this would-be cat/mouse game. Did I mention how much fun it is quoting Keaton's "LET'S GET NUTS?!" in the climax? 5.5/10

It's very unusual for a conflict between a house-owning couple and a strange tenant to provide the plot for a psychological thriller but in "Pacific Heights", that's exactly what happens. This set-up is initially intriguing but soon takes on a darker complexion as it gradually becomes apparent just how sinister and dangerous the newest occupant of the house really is. The tension then builds steadily as the conflict becomes increasingly intense and the stakes get higher.Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) and his girlfriend Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith) are an ambitious middle-class couple who decide to buy a Victorian house in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood of San Francisco. They both know that the property is really beyond their means, but after massaging some of the figures on their mortgage application, they soon become the proud owners of the impressive house which also needs some renovation work which they decide to undertake themselves. The financial commitment they've taken on is only sustainable if they let the two downstairs apartments and so arranging for this to be done becomes a priority.A very pleasant Japanese couple soon move into one of the apartments and among the applicants for the second one is a well-dressed, smooth-talking, charmer called Carter Hayes (Michael Keaton). Drake is so impressed by Hayes (who carries a large amount of cash with him and drives a Porsche) that he doesn't insist on him completing a credit application. Hayes promises that he'll pay six months rent in advance and that he'll arrange for this to be done by wire transfer. Before any money is actually paid, Hayes moves into the apartment and after a great deal of stalling, refuses to pay any rent.Things get progressively worse when Hayes moves a friend in and starts hammering and drilling loudly at all times of the day and night. The couple get anxious about what's being done inside the apartment and the Japanese couple move out because the disturbance they suffer through the nights is intolerable, as is the plague of cockroaches which suddenly infests their apartment. Drake stops Hayes' drilling by cutting off the electricity but this action gets him into trouble with the police and later, his efforts to get Hayes evicted also fail because the law always seems to be on the tenant's side.A series of further provocations continue to pile pressure on the couple whose relationship suffers as Drake starts to drink too much and Patty suffers a miscarriage. They feel totally powerless until some action that Patty takes gives her an opportunity to get rid of Hayes but what happens later isn't necessarily what she would've hoped for or expected.Michael Keaton is a tremendous villain and utterly convincing as the psychopathic scam artist who's an expert at acquiring properties by unorthodox means and at very favourable prices. Melanie Griffith also does really well as Patty who is far more rational and intelligent than her partner and who also provides some of the most enjoyable moments of the movie when she decides to turn the tables on Hayes. Matthew Modine also gives an energetic performance as the hot-headed, impulsive and not-very-bright Drake whose actions regularly do more harm than good."Pacific Heights" is entertaining, less predictable than many thrillers and definitely not "run of the mill". It's these qualities together with the performances of Keaton and Griffith that ultimately make this such an enjoyable movie to watch.

This is one of those 90's psychological thrillers I could watch and never get sick of. I've probably watched it twenty times through, and loved it as much as the last watch. Keaton is one main reason, in a trademark performance, probably his best, Nightshift and Clean And Sober, contenders. This is a smart sleek thriller, thanks to a different and well formulated story that will appease the hunger of thriller fans. A young couple, (Modine and Griffith-equally yery good) so much in love, become landlords, renting out this two story Victorian house, to some suitable trusting tenants, to keep money in flow. Only one, they rent it to, is Keaton, a manipulative con man/psychopath, with a secret life and history of scre..ng women over, the starting scene, sees him getting his just desserts, by two heavies, wielding baseball bats, that work him over. Tracking this house down, he obtains an apartment by lying and conning his way into in, masquerading as an applicable client, flashing notes like they were silver, smooth talking them, in that ever likable Keaton voice, we love. He has much more in store for this couple, as a sick twisted game of Keaton's begins, with some help too. His underlying intention is to literally drive them + the remaining tenants, out of this house, which as Modine drunkenly states, ending a sentence at the viewer's humorous expense, "... this SOB just think's it's business as usual". Modine, his character having violent tendencies, when under pressure, that brings on some bad cursing (he's great here, frighteningly angry in his flare ups) plays right into Keaton's hands. One scene, has Keaton call the cops, then walk up to Modine's door, with flowers in apology, for all the stress and heartbreak he caused, that led to Griffith had a miscarriage. Sure enough, he's met by a punch from Modine, that sends him tumbling down the stairs, and crashing through the front door out onto the house path where Modine just goes radge on him, and is, as Keaton beautifully planned it, arrested. Not knowing how Keaton's gonna go about his intentions, on the first view of this film, is what makes it a stylishly good thriller. This poor couple who's life is turned into a sheer nightmare of landlord hell, where they reach utter depths of despair, really gets you angry, you wanna put the knife into Keaton, as does the other tenants like Mako, a soft sided character here, who practices tai chi on his balcony, it's reminds of his kung fu movie playing days. He also doesn't like arse...es (Keaton and co) hammering at all hours of the morning, where he and his misses are forced to leave after his cupboards become inundated with cockroaches, who are the stars of another unnerving moment. One fine Keaton moment has him just sitting in his Porsche in the garage, just watching Griffith, his eyes remaining fixed on her, even after she's noticed. She went down to change the lights but Keaton saved her the trouble, by flashing a torch through his windshield. He's not just a conman of frightening i.q. He's a real psycho too. His demise too was grand, in how he bought it, a happy ending for our two, ensuing. PH was one of the hip thrillers of 91, solid, hard to fault. It's a thriller, that knows where it's going, it's building climax, quite intense, where we learn just how pi...d off this psycho gets, when he's really angry. A definite watcher.