Overrated

Fantastic!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This movie is not a typical "mystery thriller," at least not in the usual sense of the genre. The characters unravel intriguingly but very fluidly, and it is easy to relate to almost all of them (I bet we can all think of parallels in our own lives.) Theme-wise it is ostensibly presented as a suspense movie where an ex-cop (Kevin Kline) is re-instated into a homicide detective role to solve a brutal murder spree by a NY psychopath. There is an interesting subplot of unrequited romance between Kline's character and his brother's (who is commissioner of police) wife. Kline's artist friend, his new girl friend (the Mayor's daughter), and in fact the Mayor himself, are all amusing characters. But Kline is clearly the pivot of the movie, he turned what many might consider a very below standard screenplay and turned it into a very keepable film.The first hour though really doesn't know what it wants to be. A murder, family drama, random eroticism, serial killer movie, comedy, thriller. It's all here and all flawed. Aiello has never been so typecast in a film, whenever he's on screen, he's just angry. Keitel just seem bemused by the whole thing and spends the majority of it staring at Sarandon, who I turn spends the majority of the film staring at Kline and stalking him. The rest of the cast are thankfully brilliant. Kline is as good as always, and is ably supported by Mastrantonnio, and another brilliant turn by Rickman. The film comes into its own when the Red Herring gets thrown in. The comedy and thriller aspect of the film meld into one and work, and it turns into a half decent movie.Overall rating: 6 out of 10.

With an impressive cast, I expected much more. I was a bit of a fan of Kevin Cline and I was amazed at how bad his acting was in this. I sometimes wonder if this movie was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek parody because none of the characters are believable. Cline was so unbelievable in his character that the movie becomes un- watchable at times. The character he was portraying was also too much of a stretch. The character was maybe too "complex" in that he was trying to be too many things at once and none of it meshed.I can't tell if this was supposed to be a "serious" role for Cline. His "New York" accent is so bad.

First things first, this film has a few problems with trying to work out what it wants to be. Some of the scenes are a bit ridiculous and unrealistic, and sometimes it gets a bit slow. But that could be said about some hugely successful blockbuster films as well.Underneath this is a good little crime thriller with some likable characters who are trying to work out the clues to catch a killer with a taste for strangling women in their city apartments.Kevin Kline is enjoyable, Susan Sarandon and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are classy, Harvey Keitel doesn't really do much and Alan Rickman kind of floats around to help loosen up the mood of the film. Some of the dialog sounds like it was lifted from an adapted play or is better for an older, more mature generation.But, the stand out star of this film is Danny Aiello, who plays Captain Vincent Alcoa. He has a filthy mouth, loves yelling and putting people down all the time and has to deal with a Kline as a difficult police detective who returns to the job.The film alone is worth seeing for his performance.

I just saw this on TV by chance. I thought it was a great little movie despite the critics and mixed reviews. I really enjoyed it because I didn't take it too seriously as either a murder mystery or as a comedy. I just let it happen while I was working on a hobby project, and I liked it. The movie contains a surprising all-star cast, none of whom took their roles too seriously; I felt that they simply enjoyed doing the movie. So I think it's a greatly under-rated little gem of a flick. So if it shows up on your TV screen, give it a chance. It was engaging and very entertaining. Cast: Kevin Kline: Nick Starkey Susan Sarando: Christine Starkey Mary Elizabeth Mastranton: Bernadette Flynn Harvey Keitel: Frank Starkey Danny Aiello: Capt. Vincent Alcoa Rod Steiger: Mayor Eamon Flynn Alan Rickman: Ed And Errol Slue: Chief Sunday - Errol was a friend of mine from college and came to my wedding back in 1969. I knew he had been in some movies and had seen a couple, but didn't know he was in this one, so that was a nice surprise.