Slam Dance (1987)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply A Masterpiece

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Won't say "Slam Dance" was exactly a waste of time since it has some relatively interesting moments, parts to make you wonder. What I will say about this movie is that it was just too much of so less, off-beat, weirder by the minute and with not much to say. Here's an obscure film that needs to remain obscure, a film noir trying to be funny with humorless comedy intertwined with two or three good suspense scenes. My main interest in seeing this was because of Tom Hulce in one of his first roles after the acclaim for "Amadeus" but he doesn't repeat the same qualities of that role. Not because it's different characters (both artists though) but simply because he's just not funny while playing this wimpy cartoonist trying to solve the mystery behind the murder of his love affair, a femme fatale (Virginia Madsen) involved with powerful and dangerous people. There's small portions when his character is charming and playful - specially towards kids and his daughter Beane (Judith Barsi) - but there are times when of eminent danger when he's desperate and he's trying to be cool and it just doesn't work. It makes things worse. And the whole thing of him dissecting the case is to be watched with a straight-faced expression in disbelief with everything going around, it's not confusing as it could be but it's just so not involving and lacking of good explanations (Adam Ant's character for example).What does "Slam Dance" gets it right: all of the scenes with Virginia Madsen, presented in flashbacks exposing the torrid love affair between she and the cartoonist, there's magic going on between them; and the explanation on why she was killed, part of the final moments. It's extremely frustrating the whole way until we get there. It's like uh huh why should I keep going on in figure out who killed the woman? It loses time and essence and you're there for too little, almost nothing. A little watchable because of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Millie Perkins and Harry Dean Stanton. 5/10

"Slam Dance" is not a good picture. First of all it's boring. Second it's badly written and thirdly it's badly directed. Tom Hulce gives a very cheesy performance as a troubled cartoonist on the run. During an early scene he enters his burglarized apartment and reaches for an umbrella for protection. The ridiculous expression of satisfaction he gives at finding such a handy weapon is completely out of tune with the tension of the scene and so from that point on all credibility is lost. Surprisingly Tom Hulce has a few more moments of uncertainty as an actor during the course of this rambling movie. The blame must rest firmly on the director shoulders.There are also a myriad of corny coincidences and gaping loopholes that only serve to alienate the viewer. Such simple logic as to how a casually dressed man on the run can enter an evening dress society Hollywood party with out the hint problem is tossed aside as unimportant. Just because children seem to like the lead protagonist does not automatically mean the audience will. Who is this cartoonist that laughs at his own jokes? This is a motion picture that can degrade in the studio vaults to its hearts content because it will never be missed.

Maybe I am biased when I say that as I only rented this out because Don Opper wrote it and played a part. But that's only because he's good at what he does. Five years after writing and staring in the classic film Android he made this downbeat conspiracy mystery which has a good handful of funny bits stuck in for good measure. A woman is dead and the police are suspectful of an artist who called into the police after escaping from some strange guys with guns. The plot is slowly revealed as to what is going on. Although this movie doesn't really have enough twists in it than it should have had it is still rock solid entertainment, why Adam Ant is in there as the artist's mate I'll never know. Rent it out and see what you think. 7 out of 10

Ready for a wild ride into the underworld?Murder, sex, Mafia, cops, love and marriage ... Slamdance has it all!C.C. Drood* is a cartoonist but his life is anything but a comic strip. When an affair with a mystery woman he meets at a friend's club leads to murder and his implication, life turns upside down for Drood. Just wanting to reunite with his wife and their daughter, Drood has to solve a mystery that even the cops can't figure out. And life begins to imitate art ... the art of being treacherous!==========> *TOM HULCE is C.C. Drood. Tom, again, brings us a complete character ... as real as life. Drood has a funny side, a serious side, a vulnerable side and a loyal side. He shows us the chaos of being caught in a lie and the struggle of trying to straighten it out. Drood is a great role and is done to perfection by Hulce!