FLED: NOT THE DEFIANT ONES

So many people will automatically connect this movie with the classic film THE DEFIANT ONES that starred Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis. Their only reason for making the connection is that the film begins early on with a prison break from a chain gang in the south featuring a black and a white man handcuffed together. But the movie is more than that and doesn’t make it the focal point of the film.

The two prisoners in question are an unlikely team but due to circumstances beyond their control they soon partner up. Yes, that initially begins with the prison break/cross country trek while handcuffed together. But as they’re on the run there begins to develop a different situation between these two men. Call it the buddy cop style formula from the time period but since they’re both criminals that’s not quite it either.

Dodge (Stephen Baldwin) is a computer hacker who tapped into the funds of a Cuban mafia boss who wants his money back. Piper (Laurence Fishburne) is a standard by the book criminal who unfortunately gets handcuffed to Dodge. When a prison break goes down the pair head for the hills and on to home to get help.

While this is going on a combination of FBI agents and US Marshalls get involved in the act. This might seem par for the course but beneath it all there is some dirty laundry needing cleaned here as not all are who they seem. Crosses and double crosses filter through the various characters of the film with the eventual reveal before the film ends.

Between the mob boss and his men as well as the various resources in law enforcement on their tails the duo have little chance of success. But it seems that a plan always materializes in action films of this sort. That doesn’t make it a bad thing though. It means that this film is made for that genre, action, and isn’t looking to change the way of the world. Instead it’s meant to entertain and does so completely from the start.

The movie didn’t make a huge impact on release back in the 90s but it has developed enough of a following that when it pops up on late night cable it was always worth checking out. Now that Olive has released it on blu-ray fans can make a point of adding it to their collection. For myself I’ve always been a fan of Fishburne and getting the chance to add anything with him to my collection makes it worthwhile. It’s an amazing thing to watch someone grow from a teenager (APOCALYPSE NOW) to fill grown adult (TV’s HANNIBAL) and everything in between. Even more so when his performance elevates anything he’s in. That’s what happens here.

So if you’re looking for some action and enjoy a good buddy flick, however those buddies come together, then by all means make a point of checking this one out.

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JOHNNY BE GOOD: DECISIONS, DECISIONS

I always enjoyed Anthony Michael Hall in the numerous John Hughes movies he was involved in. He may not have held center stage but he came across as an actor that melded into the group picture being presented in such a way that he actually helped everyone else on screen with him. When he stepped out of the supporting roles and took on the lead something happened, and not in a good way.

An early outing as the lead for Hall was JOHNNY BE GOOD, a comedy that revolved around his being the football hero of a high school being scouted out by various colleges around the country. I understand that we need to suspend belief when watching films but after years of playing the weak dork in movies to suddenly become the high school stud just felt too quick and too forced.

The problems Johnny faces all revolve around his talents and those that want to take advantage of them. His coach (Paul Gleason) wants him to go to a particular school because he’ll get rewarded with a coaching job there as well, and he’ll do anything he can to make sure Johnny goes there. His family wants him to get a good education. His girlfriend (Uma Thurman) wants him to follow her to State so the two of them can stay together. Something tells me before the film ends he’ll make the right decision.

Along the way each of the colleges that want Johnny court him in every way imaginable. The offers of money, of an easy schooling, of wine, women and song are all tossed his way. It’s as if the movie wants to be an indictment of the way colleges try to recruit talent for their sports teams but never enough to take on the topic seriously when there’s a way to toss in a gross out joke or a topless coed instead.

While watching this new to blu-ray release I remembered watching it back when it was first released. Even then I felt that it was the usual teen fodder that seemed to follow in Hughes huge footsteps, movies that though the teen movie craze was all about the most predictable laughs and where kids always seemed smarter than any adult found on screen. Perhaps that’s the reason why nearly 30 years later it is Hughes movies that we continue to talk about and remember more fondly.

All of that being said I can’t actually hate this film. Sure, it’s not up to the standard set in those classic movies but it does offer a chance to see starts like Hall, Gleason and Robert Downey Jr. (as Johnny’s friend) reunited in another movie. It also provides some mindless fun if you’re looking for something to watch. And it’s also a must have for collectors of everything made by any of the actors involved. Just know walking in that it’s not the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’s just a fun movie that might remind more than one viewer of those days gone by when you walked up and down the aisles of the local mom and pop video store trying to find something to watch. And that’s never a bad memory to have.

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COMEBACK DAD: WASTED DUTTON

I’ve been a fan of Charles S. Dutton since the first time I saw him in the TV series ROC. He’s always had the ability to make me believe he was the character he was playing, something that all actors should hope to achieve. When I saw he was in this movie I had hopes even though it looked like a made for cable movie. Those hopes were dashed with each passing minute of the film.

Dutton plays Othell, a jazz piano player haunted by the sins of his past. A recovering alcoholic 3 months sober he’s now trying to make up for that as his daughter is about to marry. Approaching her soon to be husband, he attempts a reconciliation with the young woman who deals with the situation by refusing to talk about it. Eventually he breaks down that wall and gets her to agree to accompany him with her fiancé to his mother’s birthday.

At the party that takes place over a weekend things go from bad to worse as this family of successful brothers and sisters achievements are rubbed in the face of the struggling Othell. It puts a different perspective on the situation for his daughter but she still holds a grudge because of the past. Whether or not she will finally allow Othell back into her life as her wedding approaches is yet to be seen but let’s be honest, as much as this seems a made for TV movie I think we all know the result.

It’s not that this movie stinks because it is a made for TV film. There are tons of those out there that have done amazing jobs of entertaining and bringing something new to the table. This is not one of those films. Dutton does another amazing job in the role of Othell but that’s about the only thing you can say good about the movie. I don’t usually single out one bad performance but the worst thing about this movie is exactly that in what is offered by Tatyana Ali in the role of Nima, Othell’s daughter. While this actress has a long list of credits to her name you would never know it watching this film. Her performance here ranks alongside those of just about any junior high school performance of a first time actress. I’m guessing she is much better than this but somehow, some way, her performance here doesn’t do much to help that thought.

I could excuse that performance due to her age but the same can’t be said of the one turned in by Loretta Devine as Othell’s sister Malinda. It’s as if there were either no director in charge of this movie, Devine decided that she would ignore the director or someone told her that over acting would make her stand out. If it was the last suggestion then they were correct, she does stand out and not in a good way.

A lackluster film, a cast that needs direction and a story that never seems to pop make this a movie to avoid. Then again if you like bad made for TV movies perhaps…no not even then. Instead flip on Lifetime and see which spouse is abusing/killing the other in tonight’s movie of the week.

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