Mike's Murder

This is one of the most harrowing pictures I have ever seen. It is a very good and very underrated film. All of the actors do a great job in their roles and Darrell Larson gives an outstanding portrayal of a young man who inadvertently signed his own death warrant.

I only wish that this film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, best actress and best supporting actor.!!

If you have not seen this film, be sure and check it out--nerve wracking, nail-biting, and an edge of your seat film--you don't know what to expect from minute to minute.

One of the best films of any year!!

The 1980's saw the release of a lot of silly and trashy movies, that were heavy on style but light on substance. "Mike's Murder" is not one of those films. This is a very well constructed mystery thriller; a "film-noir" in broad daylight,if you will. Los Angeles provides a deceptively bright backdrop for this story, which is quite dark and sinister. The fact that we get to see into a dark, seedy L.A. Underworld of drugs and prostitution, through the eyes of a "normal citizen," like Debra Winger's 'Betty,' makes everything so much more believable. Betty's tennis coach and sometime lover, Mike, is living a double life. By day he is a tennis coach to rich older ladies, but by night he deals cocaine, and at times sells his body to both women and men, in order to maintain his flashy, drug fueled lifestyle. The viewer is along for the ride, finding out bits and pieces of a sinister puzzle, alongside Betty Parish, after she is told that her lover was violently murdered in a drug deal gone wrong. Being a normal, law abiding girl, with a straight job as a bank teller, Betty quickly finds herself out of her league and terrified at what she is discovering about her lover. The great thing about "Mike's Murder" is how well it is constructed; the story unfolds slowly, but deliberately, and keeps it's audience truly on the edge, waiting to find out just how far it will go. It helps if the viewer has a fascination with the lifestyles depicted here; others might just be lost, and wondering what the point of it is. This is not a flashy film, that relies on impressive camera angles or quick cut editing. Instead we have an old fashioned style movie, that tells a tale with facial expressions, and music, and a masterfully told story. I imagine the critics of this gem must surely have the attention spans of children; I just cannot understand how anyone could consider THIS a bad movie. It isn't really a commercial film, and it's no surprise that it did poorly at the box office; films like this rarely become "blockbusters." Still, it seems to have stuck in the memories of a lot of people, including mine; I saw it as a young teen in the mid 80's; and I never forgot it. I found the world of Mike to be fascinating and terrifying; and I still do. And I've known a few guys like Mike, and they are all no longer living. I recommend this exciting film to those who can appreciate a good mystery.

There's a lot of good things to say about this obscure mystery from the 80s. The best thing is Debra Winger, who never looked better. She is beautiful and sexy, earthy and smoldering, yet she possesses an approachable, naive quality.

The story is intriguing, with a different way of looking at the drug underworld in Los Angeles. This is not about cops, gangsters and car chases. It's about an innocent woman who accidentally becomes involved in a drug-related murder. It's really all about Winger's character, although Paul Winfield stands out in a small role as a gay music producer.

The mood is low-key and dreamlike with a subtle erotic undertone. It also has a nice score that stays with you. Give it a chance.

Debra Winger in one word in this movie: WOW! She looks amazing. 80s hair and that beautiful smile make this worth watching in itself. The story is a good one (a drug dealing "boyfriend" that the bad guys kill and Betty getting dragged into the whole mess) and the acting is well-done (wait till you see Paul Winfield!). Decent mid-80s-type soundtrack with those kinds of tunes you heard once and forgot. And Debra Winger looking great! If you can't catch it on the cable movie channels, rent it. An inexpensive flash-back with no side effects.

"Mike's Murder" was a box-office and critical bomb that was forgotten almost as soon as it quickly disappeared from theaters. A poorly written, cast, acted and directed attempt to create a film noir set in contemporary 1980's Los Angeles with lots of open sexuality and cocaine use.

The plot: Bank teller "Betty Parrish" (Winger) occasionally hooks-up with her tennis instructor "Mike" (Mark Keyloun) an irresponsible, drug-dealing/using, sometime "kept boy" who sexually plays for both teams. Mike and his obnoxious pal "Pete" (Darrell Larson) acting as drug mules decide to help themselves to some of the stash. Their clients are not pleased. Exit Mike. A panicked Pete goes on the run and starts acting like a deranged idiot. And Betty wants to find-out what happened.

Why? Her relationship with Mike is shown to be nothing more than tennis lessons and once-in-a-blue-moon hookups. There's NO romance or deep connection here. Yet she starts playing detective because she "loved" him. Huh?

What woman would even like, let alone love, Mike? He's broke. Trades sexual favors for free rent and board. Deals and uses drugs. Lies. Steals. Doesn't call when he says he will. Calls only when wants something like phone sex. Forgets dates. He's just a sleazy loser. And played by a terrible actor who's repulsive. Every time he appeared I kept thinking: "Look at his face. Look at his hair. Look at his head. His whole head s**ks!" Who thought casting this nobody was a good idea? Thankfully for audiences, Mr. Keyloun's Hollywood career was mercifully short.

"Mike's Murder" is an example of how a bad script and poor direction can undermine even a talented actress like Ms. Winger and make bad actors like Keyloun and Mr. Larson look even worse. The only actor who comes across fairly well is Paul Winfield as the gay music exec who "kept" Mike, but his scenes are brief.

In a sum, a wretched film with thoroughly unlikeable and/or boring characters for whom I felt zero connection or care. Mike got murdered? Too bad, so sad. Not really. The only real question is: what possessed Debra Winger, coming-off the massive critical/box-office hit "An Officer and a Gentleman," to accept this role when could have had her choice of almost anything else?