Review: A Slight Case Of Murder

By: The Dweeb

September 2006

DVD Features Video: 1.85:1 Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Original Airdate: 9/19/1999 DVD released on 10/03/2006 by Warner Bros. Running time of 94 minutesStarring: William H Macy, Adam Arkin, Felicity Huffman, James Cromwell Directed By: Steven Schachter

Plot Summary:
Popular New York film critic, Terry Thorpe, finds himself in a messy predicament when he accidentally kills his lover during a spat. He immediately covers up his involvement and leaves the apartment without knowing that a private investigator has been spying on the woman for her ex-husband. Realizing his opportunity, the investigator launches a plan to blackmail Thorpe. Meanwhile the police enter the picture and detective targets Thorpe as the chief suspect while also trying to advance his own dreams of becoming a screenwriter. Thorpe’s regular girlfriend becomes suspicious of all the strange activity as Thorpe tries desperately to cover up his own foul play and ward off all the bribing schemers trying to profit from his misfortune.I was not expecting much from this made for television film starring William H Macy, as a lot of this type of stuff is fairly mindless I was mildly surprised at how deep I become involved in this film. The movie starts out in the middle of a scene where the main character of Terry Thorpe (William H Macy) is flummoxing about his recently departed mistress who is laying in a bloody heap on the floor. Nice way to start a movie right? From there he just goes further and further into a dark hole and we’re along for the ride.

He’s kind of a bumbler, which is a perfect role for Macy as this is all he ever seems to play, a film critic who just can’t leave well enough alone with women. Since he’s seen enough cop dramas to last a lifetime he figures he can get out of this one. How long does he last before the cops figure things out? On top of that mess, he has to deal with a crooked private investigator (James Cromwell) who blackmails him to keep quiet. Thorpe has the uncanny ability to luck out at the last second just before the jig is up. You breathe a sigh of relief right along side him once he gets in the clear, again. To complicate matters he starts an affair with the Detective’s (Adam Arkin) wife. I wanted to reach through the screen and slap him silly. Get out, just get out!

I thought the script was pretty good, with some interesting characters and witty dialogue. The whole thing comes across as an homage to old murder mystery films, and there are a ton of references to other movies. Thorpe also provides his narrative to us, at times mugging for the camera. Macy can make the most perfect facial expressions to convey exactly how the character is thinking. “If you’re going to commit a murder — and I don’t recommend it — one thing you should definitely not do is sleep with the investigating officer’s wife. It just makes for a lot of unnecessary complications.”

This DVD for the TV film is very bare bones. You only get one choice for sound, Dolby 2.0 but at least the aspect ratio is widescreen. There are no extras and the menus harken back to 1998 when DVD’s first came out. Kind of a throwback when you are used to getting pounded in the eyes with flashy menu screens and myriad options for watching the movie. Still, if you can’t find anything else on TV or in the movie section to watch, check this one out.

Reviewer’s Opinion: RENT IT!!