The January Man

1989

Reviews by Claudia, Joan T., and Sally

Reviewed by Joan T.

I watched "January Man" this evening and found yet another one of Alan Rickman's scene steeling venues. The movie itself does not rank a great deal of merit in spite of big name actors working with poor screen writing and terrible special effects. The woman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) who played Maid Marion to AR's George Sheriff of Nottingham was the other saving grace of this film. Alan Rickman as "Ed" the artist gave some wit and humor to his character that was accomplished by facial statements and short but dry humorous lines. He took what could have been a very disappointing movie and gave it some character. He was a shadow to hold up the lead character of Kevin Kline.

Alan Rickman can produce a comedic character as equally well as his Hans Gruber rolls. He is a great actor who stands out even in the worst of situations. He is diversified in talent. If you take this movie for exactly what it is, "a non analyzing comedy", then you will enjoy it. It is a relaxing chuckle or two.

As New York counts down the final seconds of the year, a serial killer murders the best friend of the Mayor's daughter (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). At a loss to the identity of the killer, the mayor tells The Police Commissioner (Harvey Keitel) to reinstate his super-sleuth brother, Nick (Kevin Kline), to find the killer. Without a qualm, Nick gives up a promising career as a fireman and ropes in the mayor's daughter and his next-door neighbor (Alan Rickman) to find this dastardly killer.

I knew I was in trouble when the copy on the video cover didn't match the film. "Now it is almost January and Nick Starky . . . has been expelled from the force." With the ball descending in Times Square and the final 10 seconds of the year being counted down in the opening sequence, it is frighteningly close to January! Then the copy continues to say, "The January Man - a black comedy set against the murder and corruption of fearsome Los Angeles..." Last time I checked, Los Angeles wasn't an elongated island with a lot of brownstone buildings. Thus the scene is set for the rest of the movie.

Despite, I'm sure, the best attempts of the all-star cast, the script contains every single cliché from Casablanca to Hudson Hawke. The plot unfolds like a cheesy cops and robbers script written by an enthusiastic teenager. This is not assisted by stilted deliveries by most of the cast. Kevin Kline gives an outstanding rendition of a really, really bad Humphrey Bogart... In all honestly, it started out fine, but one gets the impression that as the film progresses, even the actors knew they weren't going to win in this one.

And then there is Mr. Rickman . . . His debut in this film is one of the highlights of the film, with a delicious piece of visual irony. Furthermore, although disguised as a rugged-up artist in the depths of winter, Alan Rickman is a walking breath of life and eye-candy in this film. His performance is only marred by the continuously cheesy lines he has to deliver as he exits a scene. One can imagine (I hope) AR flinching as the director tells him "No, No, Alan! I don't want you to sound like a someone who has been reluctantly dragged into this dreadful film, I want you to sound as happy as a 8 year old who has just received a the truck he always wanted!"

Reviewed by Claudia Riley, 28 December, 1997.

Photos courtesy of Claudia.

Overall rating: 3 hands, OK if you feel like watching a movie you don't need your brain for.

Rickmaniac rating: 4 hands, because Ed is so cute and what a talented artist (all right, so I'm biased).

A bad detective/murder movie. Needed a better script or more emphasis on Ed. Some funny one-liners and the fact that Nick and Ed are both a little eccentric help make it enjoyable despite the bad acting by some of the cast.

There have been a number of young women murdered in New York. The 11th victim is the Mayor's daughter's best friend (Mayor's daughter played by M-E Mastroantonio). The Mayor is upset and gets the Chief of Police, Frank Starkey, to reinstate his genius -- but eccentric -- brother, Nick Starkey (Kevin Klein) to the police force to solve the case. There is a lot of animosity between the brothers as Frank married the love of Nick's life (Susan Sarandon), and Nick took the fall for Frank in some shady goings-on, and so lost his job. The next victim is due to be murdered in January. Nick, with the help of his neighbour -- an artist and a wiz on computers -- Ed, only has a few days to come up with some clues and catch the villain.

The story line and conclusions they come up with are very far fetched. Ed's computer looks so dated I wonder if it would be capable of the complex things they ask of it. There are some funny moments, and as we know, AR can do a lot with a look and a raised eyebrow.

The cast is full of well-known names, bursting with talent, which unfortunately does not materialise in this film. These include Mary-Elizabeth Mastroantonio, Susan Sarandon and Kevin Klein. Alan Rickman's name isn't even in the opening credits, and he is the only reason I watched the film in the first place. This made it easier getting my husband to sit down and watch it with me, as he didn't realise it was an AR movie until 10 minutes in when Ed made his entrance, and by then it was too late.

The fact that the film is bursting with "names" does nothing to save the film. Kevin Klein is his usual cocky character. He manages to get M-E's character into bed within 5 minutes of meeting her, and with a very lame line. I don't like Kevin Klein, mostly for the type of character he plays. I was so glad in A Fish Called Wanda, when he was run over by a steamroller. This film could use a steamroller at times.

But you want to know about Ed. With such memorable lines as "Sure", "OK", and "Come with me", it isn't exactly AR's biggest role, but Ed is fun. We see him first using Nick's apartment as a studio instead of his own as it "has the light". He has a canvas set up on a huge easel, and a naked model lying on the sofa. What tickled me was the fact the in his painting he is only painting her legs! And then of course the legendary line "Languish darling, and don't molest anything". As a side-kick he is pretty unusual. When Nick moves his whole apartment contents, including animals, into the biggest office at the Police Station, Ed moves in too, and decides to redecorate. Another bit I loved was when he stayed late at the office to figure out a computer game.

All in all, a so-so movie, but after you've seen it once, one for the Rickmaniac’s best friend, the Fast Forward button.