True Crime

Alicia Silverstone stars in True Crime in which she plays a Catholic school girl about to graduate who has an intense interest in criminology. In a more innocent time she would have been cast as Nancy Drew.

One thing in those Nancy Drew novels and also with the Hardy Boys the juvenile sleuths never went after criminals whose mental states were in question. If you can recall the kids going after a sex criminal so be it, I sure can't. Takes a whole different kind of perspective in dealing with that. A theme that should have been more clearly developed but wasn't in the film.

During the course of the investigation she starts looking at a stranger hanging around where her school girl friends go. It turns out to be Kevin Dillon who is close to graduating the police academy. The two turn into an R rated Nancy Drew and Ted Nickerson. But it certainly doesn't end that way.

I think the roles were superficially drawn here and the players not given direction enough so they were left to their own devices. This had the potential to be better than it is.

Alicia Silverstone (pre-"Clueless") plays a modern-day crime-obsessed teenager attempting to solve the brutal slaying of a local girl. Pat Verducci wrote and directed this B-flick, which isn't especially well-made but is however surprisingly serious-minded in regards to its leading character. Silverstone is appealing and successful in carving out an interesting young woman here, despite the picture's kitschy undermining. The supporting cast (including Kevin Dillon and Michael Bowen) isn't bad, though the violence in the last act goes overboard. Not a cheesy camp-fest, but nothing exceptionally memorable either. *1/2 from ****

I believe that this is the worst film Alicia Silverstone has ever appeared in. Makes her previous films like The Crush(1993) look like a cinematic masterpiece. Alicia Silverstone's performance as Mary Giordano is unconvincing and at times annoying. A bland Hollywood low budget film with a mystery that is uncompelling as well as tiredly predictable. Might have been a good film if the film director had put some creative energy into the story. The repressed erotic emotions of Mary Giordano never reaches a three dimensional depth. The worst of Italian Giallos is still better than True Crime(1995) and the best of 1990s Teen slasher horror flick. La Sindrome di Stendhal/Stendhal Syndrome(1996) had a similar serial killer-young police woman cat and mouse relationship that was more developed than in True Crime(1995). Bill Nunn gives the only performance of the film that makes the movie a worthwhile view. Lame attempts at plot twists that never surprises or shocks.

I saw this made-for-video movie on TV once and was quite impressed with it. It stars Alicia Silverstone as Mary Giordano, a student who has an addiction to mystery novels and detective magazines. She uses her knowledge of detective work to intervene in a homicide case, and teams up with police cadet Tony Campbell (Kevin Dillon) to try to solve it.

The chemistry between Mary and Tony were good and the movie has a good thrilling and exhilarating feel to it. For a made-for-video movie, the script made for an exciting plot and kept me engaged, especially when he came to the part when Mary finds herself becoming a victim of her own circumstances.

While the plot may be predictable, it does go at a steady momentum and the acting throughout wasn't bad. Overall, this makes for a good movie to keep you entertained on a slow night.

Grade B

RELEASED TO VIDEO IN 1995/1996 and written & directed by Pat Verducci, "True Crime" (aka "Dangerous Kiss") is a mystery/crime/teen/romance starring Alicia Silverstone as a Catholic school senior in California who befriends a police cadet (Kevin Dillon) to solve a case of serial killings of young women. Their investigations lead them to a traveling carnival. Bill Nunn plays the girl's detective friend and the cadet's boss.

This came out right after Alicia's breakthrough flicks "The Crush" (1993) and "Clueless" (1995) and, while entertaining for what it is, it pales by comparison. The main problem isn't the cast, locations or excellent percussion-oriented score, but rather the script; and, more specifically, who the killer turns out being. With just a couple imaginative tweaks this could've been a very satisfying teen mystery à la Nancy Drew, but with considerable edge. Still, Silverstone makes it agreeable, along with the other highlights noted. If you like those other two flicks, this is a must.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CA.

GRADE: B-