Fatal Beauty

Yet another cop who doesn't always "play by the rules". Not a bad movie, it just seems like such a superfluous one, full of cliche characters and excessive violence. As you watch you keep thinking you've seen it all done before - and better. It doesn't have the gravitas of "French Connection" or "Bullitt", nor does it have the subversive wit of "Lethal Weapon" or "Beverly Hills Cop".

Alas, the combo of Whoopi Goldberg and Sam Elliott just does not work.

You won't miss much if you skip this one.

With a title likes this, starring actress Whoopi Goldberg would you believe me if I told you this was a searing crime film of a L.A. undercover cop tracking down a drug dealer dealing a lethal tainted cocaine known as 'Fatal Beauty'. Probably not, but this is far from a comedy, despite some humorous exchanges and low-grade dialogues. Offsetting it is its drama and violence, which can be forcefully preachy and visually jarring. Still the script remains moronic and bloated, despite its good intentions and edginess. A fitting Goldberg portraying a female version of Dirty Harry but with wisecracks and flaunting a pink Cadillac to show her lighter side, goes about her job in almost a rogue manner, getting on the bad side of her bosses (played with vigour by John P Ryan) and waging a personal war against an Los Angeles drug ring. Brad Dourif plays the smarmy drug dealer and he brings a mean intensity, although I wished he had more screen time than he had. But he does get an explosive climatic cat and mouse shootout with Goldberg. Wonder if this performance convinced Holland to use him for his following feature "Childs Play." Yep that's right, Tom Holland (better known for his horror films; "Fright Night" & "Thinner") directs this straight-laced, violent formula with predictable results. Still he manages to keep it moving with fineness, using locations to good affect and resourceful in delivery the tough action in spades. Acting across from Goldberg is Sam Elliott, but his weakly pitched character (bodyguard) is little more than a distraction and there for Goldberg's character to open up to. Also in the cast are Ruben Blades and Harris Yulin with some of these performances almost being played with mock seriousness. An action-comedy that doesn't all come together.

Whoopi Goldberg succeeds in adding spunk, wit, and a little heart in what could have been a boring pro forma shoot-em-up. Tired cop movie clichés suddenly seem fresh with a woman, especially one as charismatic as Whoopi in the lead role.

She and Sam Elliot have an undeniable chemistry that's evident from the moment they appear on screen together for the first time. Go figure!

The film is pretty climatic; shoot outs where the bad guys miss and the good guys don't, and some moments where the hero's in a jam but their partner appears out of nowhere to save the day, etc.

But the film is full of solid, engrossing performances, particularly Goldberg, Elliot, and Dourif, and an engaging, albeit derivative plot.

Overall not a bad way to kill an hour and some change.

6.5 stars.

A good movie that was overlooked and deserves more recognition. A forgotten movies from the 80's. Especially when it was sandwiched between 2 other Tom Holland movies such as FRIGHT NIGHT and CHILD'S PLAY.

Director Tom Holland attempts to bring the "Whoopi Goldberg caper comedy" into a new era by adding more serious, dramatic content, drugs and violence. The picture ends up being a murky hybrid of different styles, with Goldberg cast as a cop in Los Angeles tracking down a narcotics ring dealing in killer drugs (isn't that redundant?). Sub-plot romance between Whoopi and fellow cop Sam Elliott never gets off the ground (mainly because Holland keeps most of this story-thread off the screen), while Goldberg tosses in a few sassy asides to reassure us she hasn't become Dirty Harriet. The end result shows definite signs of post-production tinkering, and very little of it is successful. *1/2 from ****