steven@ism70.UUCP (02/24/85)
THE MEAN SEASON Starring Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway. Also starring Richard Masur, Richard Jordan, Andy Garcia and Richard Bradford. Directed by Phillip Borsos. Written by Leon Piedmont. Based on the novel "In the Heat of the Summer" by John Katzenbach. Produced by David Foster and Lawrence Turman. Photographed by Frank Tidy. Production Designed by Stan Jeffries. Edited by DuWayne Dunham. Music by Lalo Schifrin. From Orion Pictures. (1985) Boy, this is the serious season for Orion. What are these guys going to do in June and July while every other exec in town is worrying about _E_u_r_o_p_e_a_n_ _V_a_c_a_t_i_o_n and _E_x_p_l_o_r_e_r_s, take their kids to the beach?? This is the one studio that makes more serious films than audience films. Last year, Orion gave us some good attempts at serious, adult entertainment (_A_m_a_d_e_u_s, _C_o_t_t_o_n_ _C_l_u_b), and _T_h_e_ _M_e_a_n_ _S_e_a_s_o_n is one of the latest attempts. Kurt Russell plays a burnt-out reporter in Miami, who becomes the recipient of phone calls from a serial murderer roaming the city streets. The murderer's calls and Russell's stories make both of them media celebrities. Russell is hounded by reporters and other newsman. He's interviewed by John Palmer on the "Today" show. And then the killer begins to get jealous of Russell's popularity... Phillip Borsos directed this film. His most recent picture, _T_h_e _G_r_e_y_ _F_o_x received lots and lots of critical acclaim. I was expecting a crackerjack entertainment, and I came out thinking to myself, "This guy knows _n_o_t_h_i_n_g about directing suspense." Example: The killer is in location A. The audience knows this and is supposed to know it. The cops and Kurt Russell are staking out location B. Borsos spends about five minutes building up to storming location B. Then they discover he's not there. Meanwhile the audience is sitting on its hands going, "Of course he's not there, you _i_d_i_o_t_s, we just saw him out at location A!!!" There are other spots in the film where credibility is sacrified for a little action, and a character riff at the wrong moment lets the steam out of what should have been a tighter suspense sequence. Movies like this have to be smart and fast; _T_h_e_ _M_e_a_n_ _S_e_a_s_o_n makes the mistake of giving you time to figure out the plot twists before they happen. I'm dwelling a lot on the negative in this review; it's not that bad, though I don't recommend it even if you're interested. Kurt Russell and Mariel Hemingway are all right in this movie, though Hemingway is saddled with the thankless "whining girlfriend" role. Russell has little enough to do other than show how burned out he is. The actor who plays the murderer (I won't reveal who it is) performs well; he gives it a sweaty, creepy credibility. Two stars out of four.