Incontro casuale

I've read the other reviews of this film with some interest in their

diversity of opinions. Those who questioned Berkley's range as an

actress must not have seen "Showgirls (1995)." In that movie she

played Nomi Malone,a slutty, low-class-to-the-bone, dancing star

wannabe. I see a lot of contrast here, especially in her formal,

dress-up scenes. In "Any Given Sunday (1999)," she played a little

different role, Mandy Murphy, a sexy cocktail party seductress,

trying to hit on Al Pacino. "That's ok, I like older men,"...or

something like that. I must admit that I haven't seen her as a WWF

girl or a mud wrestling scene, for that matter. But I hope that kind of

stuff is not required to establish "range."

What kept my attention during "Random Encounter" was the

almost Hitchcockian plot, complete with surprise ending (surprise

to me, anyway). Although the clues were scattered throughout the

movie, it was late in the film when I figured out "who dunnit."

This film also reminded me of the Jag Mundhra film "Sexual Malice

(1994)," in which Diana Barton plays a role similar to Berlkey's in

"Random Encouner."

I think it is one of the best of its genre. (But since I'm the only

person on my block who refuses to watch "reality tv" and recent

Coors commercials, don't trust my taste.)

After Japanese tourists are killed in a rental car, Chicago public relations executive Allie Brayman sees this as an opportunity. Allie is up for a big promotion, and while she has a go-go-go lifestyle, with a BMW whose license plate says 'PRRRRR' (how cute!), she does make time for her family. It's a good thing, because her father is not in good health.

Allie also has time for romance. At a work-related party at the Cook County Railroad Museum (actually the Canada Railway Museum), she meets Kyle. Unfortunately, Kyle has a jealous ex-girlfriend with serious drug and alcohol problems, and what happens next becomes a public relations nightmare for Allie.

And just when Allie thinks things can't get any worse, they do. This movie becomes quite a chilling adventure, with lots of interesting twists.

I didn't recognize Elizabeth Berkley at first. Before I turned this movie on, I didn't even know who was in it. I just concluded it looked interesting. Berkley wasn't anything special at first, and I was prepared to say that the best thing about her was how good she looked. Even that wasn't noticeable at first, since she looked completely professional in her first scene. Later, though, she effectively showed a number of different emotions, and being a public relations person, Allie would have to know how to lie convincingly. She did! Berkley had a number of good scenes.

Joel Wyner did a great job as the mysterious Kyle. And Barry Flatman also impressed as Allie's boss.

There was some violence, but not too much. The real concern for parents, in addition to the adult situations, would be sexual content.

The railroad museum was one of my favorite parts of the movie, especially when old-style jazz music was played. I liked the old train cars.

It wasn't a great mystery/thriller, but I wouldn't say bad either.

Since 1995 Elizabeth Berkley has graduated -- entering the group of actors & actresses who can deliver a dramatic message convincingly. In "Random Encounter" -- unfortunately made for cable only -- she shows the range of acting capacity that is the trademark of the professional mature actress. High marks for her performance here! -- let's hope that she gets her break with this film.

You never know what you're going to get when you tune in a thriller late at night on a cable channel. This one turned out to be better than most. Elizabeth Berkley plays a fast-rising PR executive who meets a stranger at a party she's throwing for her company and goes home with him. This action has all sorts of unintended consequences that keep getting worse and worse as the film progresses.

This movie passes a couple of big tests for the thriller genre. One is that it stays suspenseful, almost engrossing, all the way through. Another is that you won't spend all your time second-guessing the script, saying "Would he or she really have done that?"--even when you could.

Count me out when it comes to Berkley-bashing. This isn't 'Showgirls;' she's very good in her part. It's unfortunate that some people have such a knee-jerk negative reaction to her since she appeared in that other movie and don't judge her on her own merits. It might also be noted here that she gives a convincing and competent performance in 'Random Encounter' without taking her clothes off.

This suspense/thriller only got a 4.7 from IMDBers, but I'd give it another point, not quite a 6. As another reviewer said, Eliz is pretty good, better than in Showgirls, and she's never hard to look at. Interesting seeing her as an exec instead of a stripper in Showgirls, but some of those micro-skirts might almost be the same thing.

The plot is ok, but the manner in which she is framed is just too much of a stretch. The movie will lose many viewers at that point ... the chances of things working out that way are about 1 in a million, and the framers are counting on it! But if ya can get by that, and like murder/suspense flicks, it's worth a couple bucks to rent. -Bob