Best Seller

Scarecrow-88

A veteran cop(Brian Dennehy), who narrowly escaped a hold up shootout in '72, tired and worn down(the loss of his wife to cancer especially draining, not to mention debts because of her long term sickness)after years of undercover work, also a notable best-selling author, is visited by a hit-man(James Woods)who has quite a history he wishes to reveal for a novel as revenge for his dismissal. A powerful corporate businessman had Cleve(Woods) on his payroll removing anyone who stood in his way towards amassing an empire and power.

The idea of a cop and criminal joining forces certainly intrigued me which is why I got hooked by the premise. Planted in my mind was how trustworthy could a man such as Cleve be. He's been a hired killer for a considerable amount of time, and, thanks to a supposed falling out with the boss, all of a sudden he wants this cop to write a best seller about their notorious "business relationship". Cleve spends time trying to convince Dennehy' cynical cop, Dennis Meecham, that he's a legitimate killer for Madlock(Paul Shenar)..of course, Dennis has a right to be skeptical. When cigarette burns and a knife wound reveal Cleve as the man who shot him in '72, Dennis decides to punch him in the chops a few times before writing the novel. This will be the chance to stare into the abyss, and pen the memoir of a bonafide assassin.

Woods and Dennehy are quite a pair and could make any material worthwhile, and we have a chance to see the complex relationship of two men on opposite sides of the law, no matter how unrealistic such a story might seem. Woods is at times scary and charismatic, and we see his dark side emerge on more than one occasion(such as the scene where he visits Dennis' publisher), particularly when he's at what he does best, killing..and he does so unflinchingly, without batting an eye. As is often the case, Dennis' daughter Holly(Allison Balson) is pulled into the whole mess, her life in possible danger.

What's interesting to me is how Cleve so desires for his image to be portrayed differently, not as a cold blooded murder-for-hire, but as a hero. He may just get the chance when Madlock kidnaps Dennis' daughter in order for the novel to be "put out of commission". I think Woods is so electrifying that the movie, even if it has flaws, is worth seeing for him alone. Dennehy is just fine as the honest cop with a true moral code, who often conflicts with Woods' abrasive methods. I dug their friction and eventual, if maybe a bit illogical, friendship. This partnership truly, I think, adds a compelling ingredient to BEST SELLER because of the unusual alliance of such totally different people, with completely opposite ideals. Truly bizarre is the scene where Dennis meets Cleve's family. It ends as expected, with Madlock offering to return Holly in exchange for his name not being muddied by a scandalous book, with Cleve bound and determined to kill his former employer once and for all. As I had mentioned before, when Cleve confronts Dennis' publisher, we see two sides to him, how convincing he can be in order to make an impression, and his passion in the way he's viewed in the novel(he was initially in the house to secure Dennis' manuscript, but decides to leave the publisher with a little reminder of why he's the best at his job, the teary-eyed mascara and torn dresses from her closet are more than enough for lasting impact as to his seriousness regarding how the novel relates him to the readers).

score 7/10

Scarecrow-88 14 July 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2279305/