I don’t know if it was ever possible for Kurt Russell to
make a bad movie. I mean the things he did for the Disney Company as a teen are
still great fun and even POSEIDON was made passable by his inclusion. As we get
ready to witness him in the latest Tarantino film it’s nice to go back and take
the time to see some of his older films and hard to believe they are as old as
they are. Case in point this movie.
Russell stars as Malcolm Anderson, the hot young reporter
for a top Miami newspaper. Burned out after years on the job he’s all set to
leave and move to a small town in Colorado with the love of his life, Christine
(Muriel Hemingway). All that changes with a single body found on the beach. As
Malcolm begins covering what is to be his last story, he gets a phone call from
the killer. Offering some clues he leads him to the next victims as well as
letting him know just how many to expect.
The whole combative attitude between the press and the
police is brought out here as Malcolm holds back information until the last
minute from his detective friend Ray (Andy Garcia). As the bodies begin to
multiply the interaction between the two increases in return for first look at
anything either has. It also begins to tear apart the bond between Malcolm and
Christine as he gets caught up in becoming the celebrity of the moment, famous
for his story not only on his newspaper but in all forms of the press as well.
Feeling that this will result in a Pulitzer he takes center stage to talk to
anyone about the killer and what is happening.
None of this sets well with our killer as the whole reason
he contacted Malcolm to begin with was to make himself famous. Instead he sits
and watches the attention shift from himself to Malcolm. In the end there will
be a price to pay for that happening. Eventually he kidnaps Christine, setting
Malcolm on a quest to find his bride to be before she becomes the next victim.
THE MEAN SEASON is by all means not the best movie Russell
ever made but he brings to it a seasoned actor in a role that could have turned
ridiculous in the hands of someone else. His take on the burned out, tired
reporter rings true here and at first there is much sympathy to be had by his
character. That leaves once he becomes the story instead of the killer and
returns near the end as he realizes all of the mistakes that he’s made.
The supporting casts does an equally admirable job here.
Garcia as the sympathetic police friend, Richard Masur as the newspaper editor
who pressed Malcolm to do the job and Richard Bradford as the tough cop who has
less sympathy for Malcolm than his partner. Richard Jordan as the killer turns
in another great performance to his roster, making you realize how sad it was
to see him go before his time. Only Hemingway has a hard time pulling off the
role assigned to her. This is not to say she doesn’t have the ability but at
this point it felt like she was still finding herself in the roles she chose.
Once again the movie’s presentation is well done by Olive
Films and the movie looks great. Little or no extras are found here but for
most of us that’s not why we watch. We want to be entertained, to be held in
mystery and to see what happens. All of that is packaged here with this film,
one you’ll likely enjoy if you give it the chance.
Click here to order.
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