MovieChat Forums > The January Man (1989) Discussion > Fifty minutes in and he just starts the ...

Fifty minutes in and he just starts the investigation

posted 3 years ago by jekporkins (1930)
5 replies | jump to latest

The murder happens in the first scene. They take another 45 minutes for Kline to check out the first murder scene, and another four to get to where he actually starts looking at the evidence. The movie is only 97 minutes long.

Roughly 50% or more of this movie is exposition, the character's back story, him wooing the mayor's daughter, and Ed. Frankly, it doesn't lead anywhere in the end.

So now we're about 55 minutes in and he starts the investigation and figures it out in less than twenty minutes. The rest is catching the guy and a quick wrap-up.

I love peak Kevin Kline, but even his charm isn't enough to hold this together. What a waste of a solid cast.

[–] Redsfan001 (6040) 3 years ago

Yes this was a dog.

The script was so obviously bad I wondered why Kline would take it.

Then I realized that it is written as just a huge ego reinforcer for Kilne, who was riding high from his successful venture from "A Fish Called Wanda"(1988). I think he also bagged the very hot Phoebe Cates, so he might not have been thinking clearly at the time.

[–] Kowalski (62047) 3 years ago

THE WRITER WAS COMING OFF MOONSTRUCK AS WELL...DOUBLE EGO PUNCH.

[–] Redsfan001 (6040) 3 years ago

Didn't know that! Interesting.

[–] jekporkins (1930) 3 years ago

I think you might be right - I mean, his entrance is of him jumping out of a burning building saving a child. He's Mr. Noble Awesome in this the whole way through.

It's not just Kline who signed up but Susan Sarandon, Danny Aiello, Keitel, Mastrantonio...

I don't get how this script got greenlit as is. I can see how the original screenplay was all about the January Man, and how they put the pieces together. Then someone said "hey, the lead character is more interesting than the thriller aspect. Let's focus on that instead and make it a comedy." Then you have neither a comedy nor a thriller. It's a hot mess.

[–] looper007 (1134) 10 months ago

Murderer side of things is by far weakest thing in the film, which it shouldn't be.

I would have made Kevin Kline an ex cop turned Private Detective, who gets help at times by his artist neighbour Alan Rickman (he's massively underused in this, shockingly so considering how awesome Rickman is) on some cases. I'd have got rid of Susan Sarandon stuff (she's not bad in this but she could have got cut from this film and it wouldn't have hurt it) and Rod Steiger Mayor (although his rant at Danny Aiello is a thing of beauty). The Whole backstory of Kline's character. I would have kept the Kline and Keitel brother stuff with Keitel trying to help him out as he knows his brother is great at solving cases.

I would have made Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio character just as a friend or maybe a sister of one of the victims who hires Kline's Private Detective to solve the case and keep her teaming up with Kline and Rickman to solve the case. You can keep the love story stuff in it. Make the killer a far more centred character along with Murder case and maybe cut down on comedy side after a while.

I just don't think the film knows what it wants to be. As I said Sarandon, Rickman and even Keitel and Steiger are wasted in their roles. Kline carries the film and Mastrantonio is likeable. But the Murder case and the killer reveal are so disappointing and the case just doesn't feel important at all. It's more about Kline-Mastrantonio budding romance or Kline-Sarandon-Keitel love triangle.

Director Pat O'Connor has done way better work like Cal, A Month in the Country, Circle of Friends, The Ballroom of Romance, Dancing at Lughnasa and Inventing the Abbotts that you should check out before this. He was on a bit of lean patch at this time with this film, Stars and Bars (Daniel Day Lewis worst film)and then after this Fools of Fortune with Julie Christie. Especially the waste of the cast really annoys me more then anything about January Man.