San Fernando Valley has a reputation as a home for the 'wannabes' who all wind up
classified as frustrated, screwed up, losers or flops by the self-appointed upper
echelon situated in places like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica or Westwood and looking
down upon the lifestyle of those trapped in the hot, dry, smog-filled territory. Two
days there could be more than enough for anyone, especially if you consider the
antics going on in this wannabe comedy written and directed by John Herzfeld.
Olympic skier Becky Foxx (Teri Thatcher), has been sedated (i.e. injected with
drugs) by killer Lee Woods (James Spader) after making love to her thirtysomething
ex-husband Roy (Peter Hornton). Lee's the kind of guy who likes to put excitement
in everyone's life and still keep things going according to schedule. Waking up the
next morning to find herself in a blood drenched bed, Becky stumbles onto the road
and luckily encounters two bored plain clothes cops (Jeff Daniels and Eric Stolz) and
requests assistance. Incompetence does not prevent our boys out of blue from
lending assistance and so they do their best. Meanwhile, killer Lee's accomplice
Dosmo (Danny Aiello), a criminal desperately doing his best for a comeback,
discovers that he is to be eliminated after the dark deed, but cleverly manages to
escape before being blown to smithereens. He immediately proceeds to take the
neighboring art dealer (Greg Cruttwell) and his secretary (Glenn Headly) hostage
until he has a decent meal and can figure out his next move. Other fringe characters
played by Austin Pendleton, Marsha Mason, Keith Carradine, and Louise Fletcher
pop up unexpectedly for no obvious reason.
Once the audience becomes aware that the murder is a contract killing and realize
which party is responsible for the arrangement, the thread of continuous action
keeps moving along with some added interest. A cast to be reckoned with proves
that decent dialogue and plausible plot structure can make all the difference in the
world. Although there are sufficient laughs to provide an enjoyable sit, Danny Aiello
is the only character whose performance truly stands out. As far as the rest goes,
it's sort of like Robert Altman meets Jacques Tati with Paul Mazursky thrown into the
middle.
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
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