The Real McCoy

As a director of music video clips, Russell Mulcahy is something of a living legend. Aside from directing the first video MTV ever aired (back when they did that sort of thing), he also helmed the clips for acts like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Queen, Billy Joel, and a myriad of other artists. It may take a handful of film class periods to wholly examine his prolific work in the eighties.

As a film director, however, his work is much more difficult to digest. "Ricochet" and "Resident Evil: Extinction" are able actioners, but his only real classic is "Highlander". Needless to say, it's classic of the most cultish variety, which was probably inevitable considering lead Christopher Lambert is as wooden an actor as a totem pole. I won't even get into wild misfires like "The Shadow" or low budget television tripe like "The Curse of King Tut's Tomb". It's a tall order to get excited about a director that foists that sort of work on an unsuspecting public.

It was quite a surprise, then, to find that "The Real McCoy" stands among some of Mulcahy's best film work. The plotting follows a rather formulaic heist tale, which also requires serious suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience as we're supposed to believe Kim Basinger is some sort of master thief. Val Kilmer portrays an amiable yet inept robber while the great Terence Stamp is sadly wasted as the local crime boss. He's essentially playing the same role Ben Gazzara did in Road House, except Englishman Stamp was forced to adopt a horrific Southern American accent for his role.

Despite a predictable plot and somewhat dubious casting, "The Real McCoy" is an entirely enjoyable heist film in the same vein as The Score. Granted, neither are particularly memorable, yet they make for ample entertainment on a rainy afternoon. Highlights include Kilmer's singularly hilarious botched convenience store robbery and the intricate, if entirely implausible, bank heist at the climax of the film.

In summation, if you're able to believe Basinger as a world-class thief who handles with equal aplomb both air compressed second-story apparati and complex computer wizardry, you may enjoy this film. If you can accept that Terence Stamp is attempting to effect some kind of Southern American accent and has absolutely no room within the script to even pretend to act, you may enjoy this film. If you can stomach a vastly dated, ear-grating score that was composed almost entirely on a mid- eighties era synthesizer, you will almost certainly enjoy this film.

After an opening worthy of "Mission: Impossible", Karen McCoy ends up spending six years in prison. When she gets out, she finds out her ex Roy Sweeney has told her son Patrick that she is dead. Her parole officer Gary Buckner doesn't want her to succeed and is being very demanding. She can't seem to get a good job. Not only that, but Roy is having financial problems.

And J.T. (who is working with Jack Schmidt) is a devoted fan who wants Karen to pull another bank job. Atlanta Union Bank is so secure no one can get in. But she can. Karen wants to go straight, but Schmidt is so determined to see her go back to crime that he threatens Karen's son Patrick, who knows Karen only as his mother's friend.

How will Karen get out of this situation? I can say there is a bank robbery, and one with quite a bit of intelligent planning, deception and even humor, though not quite on a par with, say, "Ocean's Eleven". The question is: does Karen get involved, and if so, is she being honest with those involved in the bank job?

Kim Basinger's character is quite good-looking but also very smart and able to get things done. Nick Searcy and Gailard Sartain could have traded roles, but I think the choices in casting them are ideal. Sartain has never been more convincing in a serious role that I have seen, even though he generally plays buffoons. Searcy has been the Frank Burns type in "Seven Days", so he could have easily done the sadistic parole officer (actually, he's more like Montgomery Burns), but I like him as the buffoon.

Once Karen got out of prison, the movie started out slow but eventually ended up satisfying. You won't believe the ending!

Not sure why this film gets trashed as much as it does, since it's pretty good. It's worth watching for the cast alone -- Basinger, Kilmer and Stamp. But it must be said that the British film upon which it's based is better. That would be Bellman and True (from an old English song) starring a cast of people that you probably never heard of, headlined by Bernard Hill as the computer geek who has to go along to keep his son safe. Bellman and True also serves as something of a time capsule, taking us back to a grotty, depressed and depressing London that is barely visible in British films any more. We can probably put the change in tone down to the Four Weddings effect. The comparison of these two movies serves as an excellent example of one of the more interesting questions of popular culture: why are the Brits generally so much better at movies that feature crime than Hollywood? Think of Cracker, State of Play, Prime Suspect, Behind The Lines, and Mobile.

Cat burglar Karen McCoy (Kim Basinger) is released from prison after 6 years for the bank robbery. She's on parole with only the suit she went to court with. Her ex told her son Patrick that she's dead. Gary Buckner is her harsh parole officer. J.T. Barker (Val Kilmer) is an incompetent robber eager to be in her next job. She's trying to go straight but nobody is willing to hire an ex-con. J.T.'s relative Jack Schmidt (Terence Stamp) wants her to do one more job. Buckner threatens Karen with more prison unless she does the job. When she refuses, Patrick is kidnapped.

The first half sets up for a solid caper movie. Everything is against Karen. She's the underdog with a heart of gold. The caper is functional. It's at least six years since Karen has done a job and she is still up to date with security tech. It's hard to imagine her ex holding off calling the cops. There are a few little things that add up to a less compelling caper movie.

This is the sort of movie that will do if nothing else is on, but don't expect too much of it. I guess there is only one good reason to watch it and that is Kim Basinger. I really can't come up with something better.

This is a typical Hollywood bank robbery movie. Nothing wrong with that when it is done right, but The Real McCoy never gets above the average in the genre. The characters as well as the script are average and very shallow. You never get rid of the feeling that you know what is going to happen ... only to see a few minutes later that your feeling didn't betray you.

The bank robbery is perhaps the biggest disappointment. It's unbelievable how these top criminals always seem to know how to avoid every security system thanks to all the gadgets they use (they would make James Bond blush like a little school girl). And then of course we still have the security guards that look like a bunch of idiots that just want to be fooled. Spice this up with a love story that never really takes off and a lot of emotions about a little boy and you know what kind of movie this is.

I just wasn't thrilled after seeing it. I reward it with a 5/10. It just isn't worth more. Too bad.