starring Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh
directed by George Armitage
97 minutes
Junior (Alec Baldwin) gets the attention of the police after a Hare Krishna is murdered at the airport. Homicide detective Hoke Mosely (Fred Ward) tracks down Junior but underestimates how dangerous he is. Junior puts Mosely in the hospital. He takes Mosely, gun, his badge and his dentures.
Junior starts committing crimes while posing as Mosely. He invests the money he gets committing robberies in a house for himself and his girlfriend, Susan (Jennifer Jason Leight).
Mosely eventually gets out of the hospital, gets himself some new teeth and starts looking for Junior.
Junior continues to rob people. He contrinues to pretend to be Mosely to the point that he tries to stop a convenience store from getting robbed. He gets injured and the would-be robber gets away.
Mosely eventually figures out who Junior really is and gets a tip that leads him to Junior and Susan's new home. Mosely "accidentally" runs into Susan at a Piggly Wiggly. He warns her about Junior's past. She claims not to be with him anymore.
Susan goes home. She has her doubts about the stories Junior has been telling her but she agrees to help him run some errands the next day. Things go downhill from there for Junior and Susan. He gets injured robbing a pawn shop. She locks him out of the car and drives off. He steals another car and gets home but Mosely catches up to him there.
Thoughts
The movie is based on a book of the same name by Charles Willeford. It is the first of four books that star Hoke Mosely. I have read all four books but it has been several years since I read them. My recollection is that like the movie they were just okay but I read them cover to cover.
Is Hoke Mosely the main character in this movie? I think you could make an argument that Junior is the main character. Susan is also a significant character in this movie and probably the most interesting and dynamic character in the movie.
Kenneth Utt who is known mostly as a producer has a small role in this film, in addition to being credited as co-producer. He produced The Silence of the Lambs and also worked in a producing capacity on The French Connection, Something Wild, Philadelphia, Married to the Mob, and Midnight Cowboy.
This is just one of seven films that George Armitage directed. The only one of the other movies that he made that I have seen is Gross Pointe Blank. I believe I saw it in the theater when it was originally released in 1997. I don't think I have seen it since then.
There are a few familiar faces in this movie in small roles including Nora Dunn (Saturday Night Live), Charles Napier (Blues Brothers, Silence of the Lambs), and Obba Babatundé (Dear White People).
I have seen this movie numerous time before. It is a sentimental favorite of mine. I don't think that it is a great movie but I like it a lot. I don't recall exactly where I saw it first. I recall watching it on VHS when I was stationed in Gitmo (1991-92) but its possible that wasn't the first time I saw it. I might have seen it before then, possibly at the Hoff.
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