All-American Murder (1991)

One of my all time favorites.

Just what I expected

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Starts out promising. Decent character development, and Walken's presence helps, but logic flies out the window early on and never returns. The two cops who believe Artie did it are extremely annoying. Pretty soon the predictable plot spins out of control with bodies piling up for no other reason than to twist the story and shamelessly manipulate the viewer. The ending will leave you with an empty feeling like you have been cheated. Nevertheless, like a pending train wreck, it is difficult to look away. I watched it to the end, but have seen many superior twist and turn exploitation movies. In summary, watchable but very average. - MERK

Another movie with Christopher "There's a clause in my contract that says I have to be in at least one scene of every movie" Walken where he wastes his talent. All-American Murder is a pretty pathetic movie, especially the ridiculous ending. I would compare it to 'Blue City,' the Alley Sheedy/Judd Nelson "thriller" about some fast talking cocky kid who wants to avenge his father's death. But, he never stops with his cocky, mouthing off, even in the face of a mafia and corrupt government officials. And his adversaries only react with stupid, empty threats. Where's the action? Where's the suspense? Like it was in 'Blue City', the main character (Schlatter) and many of those around him react too unbelievably, given the situation they're in, making it one laughable, ridiculous movie. The story centers on Schlatter, who plays a similar fast-talking, cocky kid, but a well-meaning one. A student a college, he tries to sweet talk one of the sorority girls into going out with him. But, unfortunately, he should've just settled for 'no,' because when he shows up one night, she bombs out of the building and burns to death. And since he was the only one around, he must be the culprit. Well, surely a misunderstanding such as this calls for ample chase scenes, as Schlatter tries to prove his innocence, especially with a cold cop breathing down his neck and giving him a deadline, basically, before he hauls him into jail, his patience wearing thin.But, neither the killer's identity, nor the motives, nor the finale, are all that interesting, and the end is just plain stupid. At least if the rest of the movie were just simply mediocre (it is actually worse than that), than a strong ending might've saved it. But it didn't. Not at all.I can see why Schlatter was in this movie. This is basically his schtick--the happy-go-lucky charming guy who tries to get the girl (see 18 Again!), and he's good at it, except this kind of story doesn't call for that kind of character throughout the whole movie. Everybody seems to be too passive in situations that require emergency, making the whole thing seem pretty stupid. Schlatter's good nature humor may've worked if there was anything really going on in the story. But there isn't. And of course, just because Christopher Walken is in a movie, doesn't make it a good movie. Here, he is a good actor in a bad movie. If it's thrillers you're in the mood for, even cheap ones, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

An excellent whodunit that keeps you alert from beginning to end. The only serious weakness is the occasionally too-artificially "smart" (or smart-alecky) dialogue, but the film offers a gripping, involving story AND a subtle message about (this could be considered a minor SPOILER) the consequences of perfectionism. Not many people saw it (or liked it), but I think most fans of mysteries would enjoy it immensely. (***)

Christopher Walken: what was he doing in this movie? What was he saying? The only thing this movie succeeded in, besides making me lose faith in Anson "Potsie" Williams filmmaking career, was making me feel sleazy. Everybody in this movie looked too cleancut to be involved with all that sex and I don't think there was a "Blue Velvet" double meaning of looking beneath the surface either.