Delitto imperfetto

I can't really say that this was a good movie, as much as I'd like to say so, but some of the performances in the film are pretty funny. I think Michael Biehn is terrific and he is easily the best character in the film. I also think Rob Schneider and Billy Zane give good supporting performances. Some of the gags are hilarious, but this Landis film can't compare to most of the stuff he's done in the past.

This movie was one of the most disjointed, strange, contrived, hard-to-follow (and not really worth the effort) movies I've ever seen. There were so many holes. For example, we are told that Adrian Paul's character was bad and we're supposed to believe his death would not be a tremendous loss. But why? We have no idea why he "deserves to die" other than the fact that his ex-wife stands to gain a lot of money (of which she has plenty, anyway)! And if I had to see one more scene of gratuitous sex, I think I may have become violently ill.

This supposedly is a comedy. Ha, ha. It's more like a strange hallucination without the prerequisite of medication. Many scenes seem completely pointless, and many others seem to be designed solely because somebody promised somebody that he/she could be in the movie and a minor cameo had to be created. (Example: Michael Biehn's character's cousin. If anyone can explain why that character was necessary, I'll give him/her a dollar -- and that's nearly one-fourth of the total amount I wasted renting this movie!)

It will be a very cold day in a notoriously hot place before I feel compelled to waste a couple of hours on this one again.

It's little unusual genre for John Landis. I got used to his good comedies, like "Coming to America" or "Trading places". This one is good movie too and it's "black comedy". But I like this movie. Sometimes it's funny and very stupid. Characters during the whole movie find oneselves to the most stupid situation. And this all cross with the strong violence and sexuality. So I can call this movie "The standard of black comedies".

Not John Landis's proudest moment. I'm not sure what his last movie was before directing (and writing!) this forgettable dark comedy, but it seems as if he took a long break from the business. You would think he'd make a big revival, after his many successes with such hit comedies as "Animal House," "Trading Places" and "Coming to America." Wrong.

I'm not going to be entirely negative. I was laughing a lot during the first and second acts. The film never quite hits the comic bull's eye, but it starts out on a positive note with many funny and entertaining moments. The characters are never well-developed, and it's obvious that Landis was leaning towards a dark farce, but I let that slide at first. Towards the end, the one-joke premise is stretched to the point where we're watching a series of violent dream sequences, which get quite repetitive. The film loses all focus, and the audience is given the run-around.

The cast is promising. Rob Schneider has a few funny sequences. Dan Aykroyd looks cool as a snide, tough-guy biker dude. The women are sexy, led by Natassja Kinski. However, I will give a warning. I'm a man and I'm not offended by female nudity; in fact, I enjoy it. But for all women who are offended by the "degrading of females" in countless motion pictures will probably croak on this one. Those who saw Landis's landmark comedy "Animal House" know his tendency to insert gratuitous nudity to catch the attention of his male viewers, but in that film it better fit the tone. In this case, I think he was pushing it. I don't know if it was exactly necessary to show Thomas Haden-Church doing Lara Flynn Boyle doggystyle. As I said, I'm not offended, but prudish women probably will be.

The soundtrack is awfully one-note. It's as if Landis was running way, way underbudget and could only fit one theme song into the soundtrack. Though I was laughing most of the way, I couldn't help but feel this film was way under par--especially for a man of Landis's talent. The last thirty minutes is all over the map, and Landis seemed to have written those final scenes in his sleep.

Altogether not bad, but not too good either.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

This excellent indie film by John Landis was thankfully shown on late night Cinemax where it could be taped. I guess it was not successful commercially. An intelligent and funny film with great acting and directing.