Next of Kin

I have lived in Chicago all my long life, and I really appreciated the authenticity of the location scenes. The area around Wilson and Broadway is exactly where the "hillbillies" (forgive the term), especially the single men, generally migrate. The characters in the flophouse and bars must have been taken right from the street. The "project" was recognizably Cabrini-Green, and Truman and Jesse's restored three-story house could almost be pinpointed to Lincoln Park (except that the "bad guys", and Truman, would never have found such open parking - they'd still be circling the block).

The cemetery where the final showdown occurred is Graceland on Clark Street, as everyone who has toured or visited this landmark would know. It was an agony to watch these historic monuments being blown to bits - I had to keep chanting "it's only a movie, it's only a movie".

But the readiness of the Kentucky family to jump into the fray was very real. That wonderful scene of the pickup truck on its northbound trek up Lake Shore Drive has its counterpart in everyday life, so I've been told.

Liam Neeson is a revelation. It's hard to believe that the same actor who plays to perfection this tight lipped, lean and mean mountain man, will later be nominated for an Oscar for his heart-rending portrayal of a sophisticated German industrialist.

Truman Gates may be my favorite Patrick Swayze character. There's plenty of blood-and-guts action, but it's easy to believe that a concert violinist would fall madly in love with this exciting, unusual cop. Helen Hunt, as his wife, and Michael J. Pollard as a benighted flophouse manager, are excellent in their roles.

See this movie for a good story, authentic characterizations, and non-stop interest.

This film is a very average 80's action/thriller. There really isn't a lot of action until the end, but I can't imagine it being categorized as anything else because the plot was so transparent and shallow that it couldn't be considered a drama or anything. This one has it all: Cheesy lines, the aforementioned bad plot, horrid and forced acting and really bad special effects.

The movie's upside, which most people already pointed out, is the cast. What were these people thinking when they agreed to be in this stinker? There's tons of big names in this film from when they were very young. Ben Stiller as a mobster, Liam Neeson as a 'hillbilly', Helen Hunt as the girlfriend...Adam Baldwin, Bill Paxton, and obviously Patrick Swayze. Speaking of Swayze, it's movies like this that really stopped his career from going from 15 minutes of fame to possibly 15 or more YEARS of fame.

Bad accents, forced acting, out of place casting and everything else mentioned above made this movie a below average film even for its time. Unless you're a Swayze nut, stay away from this movie.

Patrick Swayze, coming off the heels of 'Dirty Dancing', did a couple of somewhat cult action films back in 1989. One was 'Road House' and the other was this film; 'Next of Kin'. My memory of this was better to say the least. This is a bad movie. Basically it's a revenge flick that makes no sense whatsoever. It's a country vs. the city movie, as hillbilly rednecks take on the mafia. I won't bother with the plot, other than to say it's badly written. What is interesting about this movie is the cast.

You have Swayze of course as the lead, Helen Hunt as his love interest, and a relatively unknown Liam Neeson playing Swayze's older brother in a heroic role. Adam Baldwin, Ted Levine, Bill Paxton and a young Ben Stiller are in this movie as well. Out of the cast, Neeson's Briar is the most interesting character, and Neeson delivers the goods. Always worth checking out films you remember from your youth if you are someone like me, but this is just essentially a cheesy action film from the 80s that you can easily skip.

** out of *****!

What makes this action drama particularly moving is the comparison between the extended family of a Sicilian crime boss and the clannishness of the hillbillies. While Joey Rosellini insults the mountain folks as people "who farm rocks" his boss John Isabella sees the link -- "that is what they said about our people back in the old country." It is not a matter of who wears the nicer suit; it is a matter of blood, of kinship, and of ensuring that the one with the greater grievance has justice is done for his family. This is a very old tradition, both in the Sicilian families and in those Celtic clans that moved into the hills of Appalachia. In this aspect "Next of Kin" reaches a level of art not usually found in action films. The scene of the women packing sandwiches for the big hunt shows a level of clan community not well understood by us city-folk.

Watch this film and enjoy.

Shot on location in Chicago, Next Of Kin is about a culture clash between two groups that are known for longstanding vendettas. They would be the Sicilian Mafia and the hillbillies of the Appalachians.

Patrick Swayze is one of three brothers of whom the youngest, Bill Paxton, is killed after organized crime takes over a trucking firm he was a driver for. They killed the wrong guy because in addition to being Paxton's brother, Swayze is also a Chicago police detective.

Of course Swayze has to operate within the parameters of the law. That's not the case for the oldest brother Lian Neeson. He comes to Chicago just looking for them that did the deed.

Andreas Katsulas is the Mafia crime family head and he's got an idiot son played by Ben Stiller whom he turns over to enforcer Adam Baldwin to learn the business. Stiller goes right to the top of the criminal food chain with Baldwin when he and Baldwin kill Paxton. But Baldwin is a survivor and he'll do whatever it takes to survive.

The showdown between hillbillies and Mafioso takes place with a cemetery at night serving as the OK Corral. It's quite a battle and justice is served if not the law.

Next Of Kin is your routine action film, but it does have one thing going for it that I have to praise. The hillbillies are real people here, they're not the Clampetts of Beverly Hills nor the mouth breathers from Deliverance. I'm glad that the producers avoided stereotyping them which would have been easy. Swayze is a good action hero and his leading lady is Helen Hunt who as Mrs. Swayze in the film is not given all that much to do.

Fans of the late Patrick Swayze will be very happy with Next Of Kin.