REVIEW DATE: 4:25:9:9
It seams to me that there is one genre I have yet to touch: the car chase movie. It isn't an easy genre to review, believe you me. Its very concept (90 minuets of watching cars race each other punctuated by the occasional crash, explosion, and maybe some character development) seams ludicrous, right? You can possibly wrap an actual story around 90 minuets of car crashes, can you?
The Chase has answered all these questions, and more. This little early 90s gem actually manages to deliver likeable characters and lots of motorized carnage.
Our likable characters come in the forms of Jack Hammond (Charlie Sheen), a man convicted of a bank robbery he didn't commit, and Natalie Voss (Kristy Swanson), daughter of one of the richest men in the country. Our motorized carnage begins when Jack, in a desperate attempt to avoid the cops, kidnaps Natalie (with a Butterfinger bar, can't you see the add campaign? "Nobody better lay a finger on my hostage!"). And so begins a chase (see? the title of the movie is The Chase and its about a chase and stuff) through the freeways of southern California.
While driving at eighty miles per hour and evading everything from cops to live TV crews, Jack and Natalie actually get to know each other, and so do we. We find that Jack was convicted because of a technicality. We find that Natalie's dad, Dalton Voss (Ray Wise), for no lack of trying, can't buy his daughter happiness. We also find that director Adam Rifkin really knows how to direct a car chase.
Here we come to the truly endearing quality that The Chase has: because the meat of the movie takes place during a car chase it punctuates its chunks of character development with action. The movie won't allow you to get bored, as police and civilian vehicles go flying at regular intervals. One of the funniest bits in the movie comes along when two weirdos in a monster truck (Anthony Kiedis and Flea, who you probably know better from their band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers) try to ram our hero's car. Another accurse when a medical school truck breaks open, dumping corpses all over the highway. Don't worry, it looks better then it sounds.
Yet, while this vehicular monster mash is going down the script (written by Adam Rifkin) still has time to create well rounded, likeable characters. Even though this is a comedy, don't expect any real laugh out loud bits, or over the top kind of funny business. Jack and Natalie as characters are very believable, because they are so . . .normal. You actually believe you could meet these people walking down the street.
Half the credit should go to Rifkin, and the other half should go to the actors, for doing such a damn fine Job. Sheen, who moves further from his father's shadow with every movie, once again proves that he is a really good comedic actor. I haven't heard much from Swanson in these past few years, and it's a crying shame. She shows some real talent here, going from rich bitch to an actual person, and making the transition fluid and believable.
Even the supporting characters are great for a laugh. Besides the above mentioned Peppers the movie is helped along by two cops (Alex Allen Morris and Marco Perella) who seam to be the comic relief . . .except I've never really experienced comic relief that wasn't odious, so I'm not sure. Their car is the first on the scene and goes through a lot of punishment. Ever had a dead body dropped on your car? These guys have.
Because it has lots of ride raging The Chase saves itself from being boring, which is one car chase movie extreme. By having well written, likable characters The Chase saves itself from being the movie equivalent of junk food, which is the other end of the car chase movie extreme. It's a car chase movie for people who like romantic comedies. The days of arguing with your loved one over weather to watch LA Story or Smokey and the Bandit are over. Here we have a movie both sides can sign a truce over.
RATING (OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE)
