Next of Kin

I have lived in Chicago all my long life, and I really appreciated the authenticity of the location scenes. The area around Wilson and Broadway is exactly where the "hillbillies" (forgive the term), especially the single men, generally migrate. The characters in the flophouse and bars must have been taken right from the street. The "project" was recognizably Cabrini-Green, and Truman and Jesse's restored three-story house could almost be pinpointed to Lincoln Park (except that the "bad guys", and Truman, would never have found such open parking - they'd still be circling the block).

The cemetery where the final showdown occurred is Graceland on Clark Street, as everyone who has toured or visited this landmark would know. It was an agony to watch these historic monuments being blown to bits - I had to keep chanting "it's only a movie, it's only a movie".

But the readiness of the Kentucky family to jump into the fray was very real. That wonderful scene of the pickup truck on its northbound trek up Lake Shore Drive has its counterpart in everyday life, so I've been told.

Liam Neeson is a revelation. It's hard to believe that the same actor who plays to perfection this tight lipped, lean and mean mountain man, will later be nominated for an Oscar for his heart-rending portrayal of a sophisticated German industrialist.

Truman Gates may be my favorite Patrick Swayze character. There's plenty of blood-and-guts action, but it's easy to believe that a concert violinist would fall madly in love with this exciting, unusual cop. Helen Hunt, as his wife, and Michael J. Pollard as a benighted flophouse manager, are excellent in their roles.

See this movie for a good story, authentic characterizations, and non-stop interest.

What makes this action drama particularly moving is the comparison between the extended family of a Sicilian crime boss and the clannishness of the hillbillies. While Joey Rosellini insults the mountain folks as people "who farm rocks" his boss John Isabella sees the link -- "that is what they said about our people back in the old country." It is not a matter of who wears the nicer suit; it is a matter of blood, of kinship, and of ensuring that the one with the greater grievance has justice is done for his family. This is a very old tradition, both in the Sicilian families and in those Celtic clans that moved into the hills of Appalachia. In this aspect "Next of Kin" reaches a level of art not usually found in action films. The scene of the women packing sandwiches for the big hunt shows a level of clan community not well understood by us city-folk.

Watch this film and enjoy.

Hillbilly-turned-Chicago cop Patrick Swayze sets out to find his brother Bill Paxton's killer. His other brother Liam Neeson comes to the city to find the killer himself -- hillbilly style! It's hillbillies vs mobsters on the streets (and a cemetery) of Chi-town. I'm sure whoever did the casting on this movie had a brief career. I can buy Swayze and Paxton as hillbillies but Neeson? Also, Ben Stiller as a Sicilian mobster?

Swayze is a citified hillbilly. We know they've civilized him because he pulls his mullet back into a fashionable ponytail. Neeson is not civilized. We know this because he wears a dirty baseball cap at all times, even when he has on a suit. Helen Hunt is Swayze's city wife. She plays the violin, which Swayze's hillbilly kin refer to as the fiddle. Rest assured, this movie never misses a chance to traffic in clichés.

The action is so-so and the performances are about what you would expect. Swayze takes his part very seriously. Adam Baldwin seems to know the score and hams it up appropriately as the villain. There are many quotable lines, which is the mark of a good cheesy action movie. It's not at the top of my list of great '80s actioners but it's worth checking out anyway.

Patrick Swayze, coming off the heels of 'Dirty Dancing', did a couple of somewhat cult action films back in 1989. One was 'Road House' and the other was this film; 'Next of Kin'. My memory of this was better to say the least. This is a bad movie. Basically it's a revenge flick that makes no sense whatsoever. It's a country vs. the city movie, as hillbilly rednecks take on the mafia. I won't bother with the plot, other than to say it's badly written. What is interesting about this movie is the cast.

You have Swayze of course as the lead, Helen Hunt as his love interest, and a relatively unknown Liam Neeson playing Swayze's older brother in a heroic role. Adam Baldwin, Ted Levine, Bill Paxton and a young Ben Stiller are in this movie as well. Out of the cast, Neeson's Briar is the most interesting character, and Neeson delivers the goods. Always worth checking out films you remember from your youth if you are someone like me, but this is just essentially a cheesy action film from the 80s that you can easily skip.

** out of *****!

"Next of Kin" is pretty much the standard vigilante movie. Only the actors were changed to protect Charles Bronson in "Death Wish" (1974) and Sylvester Stallone in "First Blood" (1982) from this overplayed formula movie.

Truman Gates' (Patrick Swayze) brother has a brand-new truck and is selling wholesale cigarettes. He should be shot for that. Oh, he was. Evidently, against the advice of his partner, the brother decided to protect the cigarettes from hijackers with his life. On the other hand, little Joey Rosselini (Adam Baldwin) is showing off and cannot back down from the challenge.

Now Truman must identify the person whom his brother insulted and incarcerate him. You guessed it; the rest of the kin which includes Blair (Liam Neeson) thought you were supposed to "incinerate" him. So, the fun begins. Bang! Bang! Shoot-um up.