Best Seller and Alien Nation: Cop Buddy Films with a Twist

James Woods and Brian Dennehy.

Best Seller (1987).  Cleve is a professional killer who feels he never got the respect he deserved from his ex-employer, a powerful corporate executive. To gain revenge, Cleve (James Woods) approaches Dennis Meechum to write an exposé about the corrupt businessman who used Cleve's services. A police detective who once authored a non-fiction bestseller, Meechum (Brian Dennehy) is skeptical at first. Gradually, Cleve persuades Meechum that his tale is true; it "helps" that suddenly both men become the targets of murder attempts.

Made in 1987, Best Seller is mostly a study of the relationship between Cleve and Meechum. Granted, there are the requisite action scenes and a climax filled with multiple corpses, but that's not the focus. Instead, Larry Cohen's screenplay explores the rocky "friendship" between a smooth, charming, vicious killer and an honest cop struggling to be a single parent. The strength of Cohen's script is that it dupes into believing that Cleve may not be so bad, then shows him performing a cold-blooded, needless murder. Like the audience, Meechum eventually becomes intrigued with the engaging killer--but he's smart enough to never fully trust his new ally.

Coming off a Best Actor nomination for Salvador (1986), James Woods pulls in the audience with his riveting portrayal of Cleve. Brian Dennehy provides an effective foil, but his role is less showy. Best Seller belongs to Woods and his compelling, creepy character.

It's not a brilliant film. There are too many gaps in logic, such as when Meecham--whose life has been threatened--leaves his teenage daughter home alone. My recommendation is that you overlook its faults and watch Best Seller to see Woods at his best.

Mandy Patinkin as Francisco.

Alien Nation (1988).  In 1991, Los Angeles is the home to 300,000 aliens who arrived three years earlier when their spaceship crashed on Earth. Labeled Newcomers, the aliens are humanoid in appearance and have been partially assimilated into American society. Treated as slaves on their planet, the Newcomers have embraced their new freedoms. Still, they are viewed by many humans as a race to distrust and even fear.

Police detective Matthew Sykes (James Caan) loses his partner when they intervene during a convenient store robbery in Slagtown, the slang name for a Newcomer community. Determined to find his partner's killer, Sykes volunteers to team up with Sam Francisco (Mandy Patinkin), the first Newcomer to be promoted to detective. The prejudiced human gradually realizes that his new partner is intelligent and dedicated, even if he does have a propensity to follow the rules.

James Caan as Sykes.

With Alien Nation, screenwriter Rockne O'Bannon (Farscape) goes to great lengths to create a new world--and then does little with it. He litters the story with fascinating tidbits about the Newscomers: their favorite foods include raw beaver; they can breathe methane; they can master the English language in three months; and consuming too much sour milk makes them drunk! Alas, none of these revelations factor into what is essentially a boring a plot about a businessman trying to start a drug racket.

Mandy Patinkin is entertaining as Sam Francisco (whom Sykes calls George...an inside joke since the producers were not allowed to use the name George Jetson). James Caan provides a nice foil, but he has played roles like his independent, grumpy cop far too often in his career. In the end, they make Alien Nation watchable, but not especially memorable.

The film did spawn a short-lived TV series and five follow-up television movies starring Eric Pierpont as Francisco and Gary Graham as Sikes (now spelled differently).

James Caan and Michael Mann Team Up for "Thief"

James Cann as Frank.

Michael Mann makes a remarkably self-assured debut as feature film director with his sleek 1981 drama Thief. After graduating from the London Film School in the 1960s, Mann gained experienced on television, working on crime dramas such as Starsky and Hutch and Joseph Wambaugh's Police Story. He won an an Emmy for writing and a DGA award for directing the made-for-TV film The Jericho Mile. Thus, Mann already had an impressive pedigree when he turned his sights on writing and directing Thief, an adaptation of a book written by real-life jewel thief John Seybold.

Caan and Tuesday Weld.

James Caan stars as Frank, an ex-convict who, by day, runs Rocket Motor Sales and the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge. By night, though, Frank stages elaborate heists with the help of a couple of cronies. Frank's dream is for a normal life with a loving wife, a baby boy, and a home in the suburbs. Anxious to make it a reality--especially after meeting a pretty cashier (Tuesday Weld)--Frank agrees to work for a mob boss named Leo (Robert Prosky). Frank's plan is to complete one last big job and then retire to the idyllic life. Unfortunately, Leo has other plans for the thief.

Thief provides James Caan with a rare juicy role, one which highlights the actor's likability and his explosiveness. In the film's best scene, Frank recounts the horrors of prison life to his girlfriend over a cup of coffee in a restaurant. It's a revealing conversation that explains his paternal feelings toward an old master thief (Willie Nelson), who is dying in prison. More importantly, Frank explains that he survived by learning not to feel anymore. He stores his dreams on a postcard-size photo collage in his wallet, thus making them dreams that he can literally tear up and cast aside if necessary.

Yet, while Frank exhibits a handful of redeeming qualities, there is raw violence always simmering just beneath the surface. He doesn't hesitate to threaten innocent people or yell abusively at a social worker because he can't understand why an ex-con isn't considered a suitable parent for an adopted child.

Robert Prosky as Leo.

The supporting cast includes a number of effective performances, some of them delivered by first-time performers. John Santucci, a former jewel thief initially hired as a technical consultant, is pitch-perfect as a dirty cop. Dennis Farina, a real-life former cop, also made his film debut in Thief (as a villain). However, supporting acting honors go to Robert Prosky, who got his first major film role in Thief  at the age of 51. Prosky plays a mob kingpin who admires Frank's work and wants to make him part of his "family"--not understanding Frank's obsession with individualism.

While Thief is visually interesting, especially Mann's use of bold colors mixed with black, it lacks the style of the director's later work, such as Manhunter (1986) and the Miami Vice TV series. While the heist scenes are compelling, don't expect dripping suspense along the lines of Rififi (1955). The big safe-cracking sequence lasts a mere ten minutes.

Thief works best as an engrossing character study. And while it's clear from the outset that Frank will fail to achieve his unrealistic dream of a perfect family life, the closing shot is surprisingly optimistic--in its own downbeat kind of way.

Sam Peckinpah Goes Kung Fu in "The Killer Elite"

At the outset of The Killer Elite (1975), Mike and George appear to be two happy-go-lucky mercenaries that work for a CIA contractor. That changes when George (Robert Duvall) kills a defector they're protecting--then shoots Mike (James Caan) in the knee and elbow. As George stands over his bleeding pal, he states flatly: "(You) just retired. Enjoy it."

As Mike recovers from extensive surgery, his two bosses (Arthur Hill and Gig Young) visit him to deliver good news and bad news. The good is that he will receive $1500 in disability a month (a tidy sum compared to government employees). The bad news: "Given a year, maybe you'll be able to walk up a flight of stairs. That leg of yours will never be anything but a wet noodle."

George (Duvall) and Mike (Caan)
prior to Mike's "retirement."

Fueled by determination and perhaps a little revenge, Mike makes an impressive recovery, but now wears a brace on his left arm and walks with a cane. However, he still wants to get back in the business. Mike gets his opportunity when he's asked to protect an Asian diplomat from an assassination attempt by none other than George.

Unlike most of his films, Sam Peckinpah was not involved with The Killer Elite from the beginning. He joined it when his plans for a thriller called The Insurance Company hit a snag. In fact, in the book Peckinpah, author Garner Simmons includes this telegram sent by studio executive Mike Medavoy to Peckinpah: "I am confirming to you, per your note of January 27th that you are not to do any writing on the script."

The Japanese poster emphasized
the kung fu!

Instead, Marc Norman (Shakespeare in Love) and Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night) penned the screenplay. Although Robert Hopkins' source novel Monkey in the Middle took place in England, the film's locale was shifted to San Francisco. Silliphant, a martial arts enthusiast who trained under Bruce Lee, added several kung fu elements. Caan's character practices martial arts as part of his rehabilitation and Ninja assassins also try to kill the Asian diplomat played by Mako. Silliphant even wrote a role for his wife Tiana Alexandra, who held a brown belt at the time (and also studied under Lee).

Given his lack of involvement in the script, it's surprising that The Killer Elite comes across as a typical Peckinpah film. In fact, it works as a thematic sequel (of sorts) to my favorite Peckinpah movie: The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970). In both films, the protagonists are betrayed by a friend (or friends) and left to die (one could argue that Mike "dies" when his profession is apparently taken away from him). And both films focus on the rehabilitation and, ultimately, reinvention of their protagonists. In the concluding scene of The Killer Elite, it's obvious that Mike has undergone a life-changing transformation.

Director Sam Peckinpah.

While The Killer Elite doesn't rank with Sam Peckinpah's best films, it remains an interesting outing that makes outstanding use of the San Francisco locales. Plus, Caan gives one of his best performances. My only real criticism centers on the martial arts fight sequences. While I love a good kung fu fight, Peckinpah's attempts come across as pedestrian--especially compared to the action films being made during the same period by Bruce Lee and others in Asia. Peckinpah should have mandated the substitution of a couple of good shootouts. With this film, though, he probably didn't have the clout to do that.