moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (03/03/85)
From the ads shown on TV for this movie, I was expecting a movie that would
be quite enjoyable to me; it seemed to sound like Hackers Delight -- lets
get back at the system as a mythical alter-ego. However, when I saw that
Bob ("Porkey's") Clark had produced and directed it, I decided that elation
would not be the best attitude to enter this movie with. As it turns out, I
was correct.
Clark seems to have the strange ability to put out occasional movies with
interesting concepts and very good actors. "Murder by Decree" had one of
the best Holmes/Watson teams I can remember in a long time, and a stellar
cast to surround them with (Genieve Bujold comes to mind, in particular).
Here we have Timothy Hutton, Peter Boyle, Darren McGavin and Robert Culp
(two TV actors who do very good work, when given a good script). The story
is about a young man (Hutton) whose fireman brother is hurt in an off-duty
accident, and his efforts to get the city government, in particular the
mayor (Culp) to provide medical care for the brother. When all attempts
fail, he decides to get back at the mayor through a series of spectacular
graffitti attempts.
First the faults, and there are many: most of the actors look like they are
playing their "standard" roles: Culp as Bill Maxwell, Robert Urich as a
lovable oaf brother, and Peter Boyle as The Goon. Kim Catrall (sp?), who
plays a social worker who falls for Hutton, reminds one, unintentionally, of
a freshman Diane from Cheers -- she's so plucky and so over-educated that
you wonder why she finds Hutton attractive at all. ANd why does Paul
Sorvino play Paul Sorvino? It's not like he's a big-name movie star...
This story has several patches where it moves hardly at all, and one wonders
where the suspense is supposed to occur. Finally, the music (except for the
jaunty Irish opening and closing) is so poor as to take your mind off the
movie.
There are two good things about this film, and the major one is Timothy
Hutton. I'm not sure I liked his character very much, but Hutton is so
professional and such a performer, especially compared to his co-stars (a
subtitle in some scenes asking "Can you pick the *real* actor in this
picture?" would have been appropriate), that he can carry the show on his
own shoulders. The other factor is that the characters have a bit more
three-dimensionality than most others; they break out of the stereotypes
towards the end (Culp, in particular, stays likeable throughout the
picture). There is really only one heavy, Doyle, and he borders on the edge
of being a psychopath. Also, a couple of good lines all the way through.
I'd recommend this movie if you can see it at a bargain rate, like Timothy
Hutton (I find it difficult to dislike his characters after the effect
"Ordinary People" had on me), and enjoy a bit of an underdog story, slowly
told. A C-.
And, of course, I find the idea of someone going around under an alias
totally outlandish...
"He is the Napoleon of Crime, Watson..."
Moriarty
...err, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
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