Random Encounter (1998)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Such a frustrating disappointment

Absolutely brilliant

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

After Japanese tourists are killed in a rental car, Chicago public relations executive Allie Brayman sees this as an opportunity. Allie is up for a big promotion, and while she has a go-go-go lifestyle, with a BMW whose license plate says 'PRRRRR' (how cute!), she does make time for her family. It's a good thing, because her father is not in good health.Allie also has time for romance. At a work-related party at the Cook County Railroad Museum (actually the Canada Railway Museum), she meets Kyle. Unfortunately, Kyle has a jealous ex-girlfriend with serious drug and alcohol problems, and what happens next becomes a public relations nightmare for Allie.And just when Allie thinks things can't get any worse, they do. This movie becomes quite a chilling adventure, with lots of interesting twists.I didn't recognize Elizabeth Berkley at first. Before I turned this movie on, I didn't even know who was in it. I just concluded it looked interesting. Berkley wasn't anything special at first, and I was prepared to say that the best thing about her was how good she looked. Even that wasn't noticeable at first, since she looked completely professional in her first scene. Later, though, she effectively showed a number of different emotions, and being a public relations person, Allie would have to know how to lie convincingly. She did! Berkley had a number of good scenes.Joel Wyner did a great job as the mysterious Kyle. And Barry Flatman also impressed as Allie's boss.There was some violence, but not too much. The real concern for parents, in addition to the adult situations, would be sexual content.The railroad museum was one of my favorite parts of the movie, especially when old-style jazz music was played. I liked the old train cars.It wasn't a great mystery/thriller, but I wouldn't say bad either.

When I had just seen a few minutes of this, about fifteen minutes into the beginning, I had stuck on and watched the rest, mostly to check if it is in fact Elizabeth Berkley. I had a few doubts, since I now feel she might have gained just a few pounds since "Showgirls". It makes her no less sexy, for sure, but made me wonder. Now, for the review, I could not stop asking the same question: "is this a TV movie or a TV show"? I couldn't settle on it being a typical motion picture because of the blandness of the camera work, lack of a spark in the acting styles, and the same damn music playing at the off times all through the film. Truly, the music did not match the emotions hardly at all, and did not help the movie, period. The only thing that gave this movie a bit of color was the main guy character's talent, the mystery he was able to show with every move and every word. Elizabeth Berkley... well, she has grace, style, height, and the incredible uncommon charm that seemed to get her in the movies in the first place. In Showgirls those were a deadly combination. In Random Encounter, she had to damn near get a makeover to portray the dullness of the office worker she played. Neither did it work nor was she the possibly the right actress for the movie. Unless the director would loosen up a lot and let her smile just ONCE during the film with the killer smile she gave her ride in the beginning of Showgirls. That's what am talking about. That would have flipped the film up-side-down, I tell ya.

This suspense/thriller only got a 4.7 from IMDBers, but I'd give it another point, not quite a 6. As another reviewer said, Eliz is pretty good, better than in Showgirls, and she's never hard to look at. Interesting seeing her as an exec instead of a stripper in Showgirls, but some of those micro-skirts might almost be the same thing.The plot is ok, but the manner in which she is framed is just too much of a stretch. The movie will lose many viewers at that point ... the chances of things working out that way are about 1 in a million, and the framers are counting on it! But if ya can get by that, and like murder/suspense flicks, it's worth a couple bucks to rent. -Bob

Elizabeth Berkley is one of Hollywood's worst talents. She has absolutely no range as an actor. There are numerous skilled actors that should deserve a chance. It is sad how many roles Elizabeth has gotten recently.