Kuffs

I was at Albertson's in the video section and wanted to pick up a "good" movie; well I always want to rent a good movie..but sometimes you're just really *not* in the mood for any bs, and well...you know how that goes..

The problem is..what movie *haven't* I seen that I could trust? I actually had seen Kuffs already, but not since it came out way back when. Well Christian Slater was still in his prime in this film and he's always cool to watch,(besides..I had totally forgotten what the movie was about!) so I rented it.

Sure it's a bit low-key (Slater narrates to the camera, and throughout there are series of techniques used: sound effects over swear words, subtitles used during Christian's gagged mouth scene, etc.) but that's what makes it stand out. There are several twists and turns in the story, and though the direction is simple and easy on the eyes, it is never predictable.. and funny-even hilarious- scenes and lines seem to come out of nowhere. Of course the fact that Christian Slater stars in it adds depth, sincerity, intelligence, and attitude to the picture.

What also makes <Kuffs> stand out is a certain fish-out-of-water feeling you get when watching ..meaning... Here you've got a total Hollywood moviestar, a gorgeous Milla Jovovich-who seemed to have immediately come from the set and popularity from <Return to the Blue Lagoon> in a pretty trashy neighborhood, under extremely bad circumstances. It seems pretty unbelievable that a 'perfect' young lady w/perfect parents would be ok with their daughter pining after the guy who got her 'in trouble' and then ditched her for it, whose apartment is covered in bulletholes!

But this is Christian Slater ! With his uncanny ability to make everyone around him feel stupid and uncool, (at least in films), he also has the power to move you, to let you trust him... Sure the part was probably written for him, but that's why I rented it in the first place!

This is one of the best action-comedy movies that I have ever seen. The movie is full of hilarious one-liners, and action too. The plot is very original, not like a scheme I have ever seen in a cop film before. Don't watch this movie expecting it to be like Lethal Weapon, this isn't a film to be taken seriously. It's about a young, renegade 20-year old who takes over a special police unit after his brother, who ran the unit, was killed. This is a good action-comedy that will keep you laughing through the whole film. And Milla Jovovich is in it to boot...yeah, I'm a guy, sue me.

If the rather quirky and unique screen personality of Christian Slater is not your cup of tea, than I'd stay away from Kuffs. Reading the film credits before writing this review I learned that Kuffs was written specifically for Slater. I can't see anyone else this role of George Kuffs, amiable high school dropout who can't get his life together and is sponging off his big brother Bruce Boxleitner.

Boxleitner is a patrol specialist, an institution dating from the days of the Forty Niners and unique unto San Francisco. There were not enough police to enforce any semblance of law and order in a town that just mushroomed over night. The city fathers assigned specific areas to people to enforce law and order and Boxleitner has one of those districts.

But in his area, the merchants are being harassed and extorted and he's being offered a huge bribe to sell his district to some really nasty people. When he doesn't Boxleitner is killed and Christian Slater inherits his job.

Despite some really gaping holes in the plot, the film is really carried along quite nicely by Christian Slater. Others in the cast of note are Milla Jovavich as his pregnant girlfriend, Leon Rippy as the hood who murdered Boxleitner and Tony Goldwyn as the SFPD officer assigned to Slater to keep him from getting killed.

Still Kuffs is strictly a Christian Slater show and his fans will absolutely love it.

Yes, silly and ridiculous storylines and plot holes abound.

Nonetheless, Slater is charming and it is a fun watch.

Just don't take it too seriously.

This movie is one of my favorites. I saw one scene of it (the dry cleaning store scene) when I was 8, but I was too young to care. Fast-forward to about 2 weeks ago, when my mom rented me some movies, and I fell in love with Kuffs.

Christian Slater pretty much plays the same character: a smart-alec with the ability to kick some @$$. I love the way he can play that role in this movie, with a hilarious joke or monologue to the viewers just about every other minute!

Sure, it has its rough spots: the action could have been better, and I would have liked to see a little more of Milla Jovovich, but overall, it's a winner.

I give it a 9 out of 10.