Blue City

Good performances by Nelson & Sheedy and a twist in the end give this film a good bit of quality. Don't listen to the naysayers, there are many more films higher rated than this which are much worse. Worth a watch.

This movie has always been lambasted but I have seen it a few times over the years. It has some exciting action scenes and captures the seedy atmosphere of a corrupt Florida town very well. Judd Nelson does his usual smirk acting job but nice supporting roles by David Caruso and Paul Winfield help compensate.

What's good about this flick? The gorgeous Anita Morris plays Nelson's stepmother and the woman oozes sex appeal. A wonderfully smarmy performance by Paul Winfield as a corrupt police chief. David Caruso acts circles around his co-star Judd Nelson. Some really nice shots of the coastline while Nelson rides his hog down the interstate. Ry Cooder's bluesy score is just a treat to listen to and captures the atmosphere of the settings.

What's bad about it? Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson aren't trying at all; they look like they're here for the paycheck and nothing more. They exhibit no chemistry in any of their scenes together, and Nelson looks like he's reciting all of his lines in the least interested manner possible, and Sheedy looks as though she'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, these two performers are probably the reason why most people would want to see this movie. I say skip it and see them in St. Elmo's Fire or better yet The Breakfast Club.

Billy Turner (Judd Nelson) returns to his hometown of Blue City, Florida. The family black sheep promptly starts a bar fight and expects to be bailed out by his mayor father. He is surprised to learn that his father had been murdered. Police Chief Luther Reynolds (Paul Winfield) is not eager to solve the case despite claiming to be his friend. The obvious suspect is his father's slimy business partner Perry Kerch (Scott Wilson) who is also now sleeping with his stepmother Malvina Kerch-Turner (Anita Morris). Billy recruits his former school friend Joey Rayford (David Caruso) to help force a confession out of Perry who had done Joey wrong previously. Joey's younger sister Annie Rayford (Ally Sheedy) helps and falls for Billy.

Director Michelle Manning produced The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles before taking her shot. There's nothing wrong with taking a shot when you get a chance, but there is no doubt that this shot completely missed the mark. First, Judd Nelson is wrong for the role. He's supposed to be hard, but I don't buy it. He is still the guy from Breakfast Club. In a way, Ally Sheedy suffers from something similar. She has no romantic chemistry with Judd. Looking back at her career, she never really had a great romance. Her best may be WarGames and those characters are not staying together. Above all that, I can't buy that nobody is willing to give Billy an alternate suspect. Perry could have thrown him a red herring, guilty or not. A mayor would have multiple enemies. After the dog track incident, Perry would force Luther to gin up some charges for the boys. The story really doesn't make much sense and it's hard to buy the hardboiled Brat Pack.

Other than some noteworthy names attached to the project (Judd Nelson, David Caruso, Ally Sheedy, Paul Winfield, Scott Wilson and filmmaker Walter Hill), "Blue City" is a by-the-numbers, but unscrupulous dramatic thriller that involves a lot of bruising beat-ups and heated confrontations as it has Judd Nelson as a real rebellious young drifter returning back to his home town to find out his well-regarded father was murdered and the police had done little about it because of the lack of evidence. So with the help of a friend or two he takes it upon himself to stir up a ruckus with the local heavies to hopefully to find his father's killer. Nelson's disruptively brooding character spends most of the time instigating conflicts and getting into tit for tat situations by waging a criminal war to get some point across. Questionable methods indeed, but it provides constant brutality and a furiously nippy edge over the use of growing suspense and mystery. Nearly every character involved with the exception of Ally Sheedy is quite nasty or have shades… even our supposed heroes. As for Sheedy's character, she felt nothing more than a padded distraction in the usual love interest angle and in the end could have been rubbed out. There are some good performances. Scott Wilson provided some sparks in his villainous local mob role with Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as one of his henchman. A stoic Paul Winfield is solid and Anita Morris brings a nervous energy. Walter Hill's co-written screenplay is uneven (some things making little sense) and foreseeable in its plot twists (where it seems like easy come, easy go), but the script keeps the dialogues blunt and simple. The choice of setting is ideal with some scenic Florida shots, as the humidity goes down well with the tension that's boiling over between the parties involved. Director Michelle Manning handling is rather tight, but pretty cut and dry. Ry Cooder provides the upbeat music score that embellishes the environment and ordeals, although it can be rigid and overwrought. Reasonably mindless fodder