Slam Dance

1987 "It's not about dancing!"
5.2| 1h39m| R| en
Details

When framed for the murder of a sultry blonde, an underground cartoonist is drawn into a web of corruption, blackmail and deceit.

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Reviews

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Rodrigo Amaro Won't say "Slam Dance" was exactly a waste of time since it has some relatively interesting moments, parts to make you wonder. What I will say about this movie is that it was just too much of so less, off-beat, weirder by the minute and with not much to say. Here's an obscure film that needs to remain obscure, a film noir trying to be funny with humorless comedy intertwined with two or three good suspense scenes. My main interest in seeing this was because of Tom Hulce in one of his first roles after the acclaim for "Amadeus" but he doesn't repeat the same qualities of that role. Not because it's different characters (both artists though) but simply because he's just not funny while playing this wimpy cartoonist trying to solve the mystery behind the murder of his love affair, a femme fatale (Virginia Madsen) involved with powerful and dangerous people. There's small portions when his character is charming and playful - specially towards kids and his daughter Beane (Judith Barsi) - but there are times when of eminent danger when he's desperate and he's trying to be cool and it just doesn't work. It makes things worse. And the whole thing of him dissecting the case is to be watched with a straight-faced expression in disbelief with everything going around, it's not confusing as it could be but it's just so not involving and lacking of good explanations (Adam Ant's character for example).What does "Slam Dance" gets it right: all of the scenes with Virginia Madsen, presented in flashbacks exposing the torrid love affair between she and the cartoonist, there's magic going on between them; and the explanation on why she was killed, part of the final moments. It's extremely frustrating the whole way until we get there. It's like uh huh why should I keep going on in figure out who killed the woman? It loses time and essence and you're there for too little, almost nothing. A little watchable because of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Millie Perkins and Harry Dean Stanton. 5/10
Pepper Anne It is obvious from the music video included prior to the movie on the VHS version, that Slam Dance's strengths is in its visual elements, and as such, it is very simply and 80s movie in almost every visual respect. Unfortunately, what at least looked interesting, and was well-paced, was also a jumbled narrative which tends to deliver too much for its viewers to digest at one time with incoherent explanation. And while the movie's appearance may have been constructed with care, the fact that it's plot is delivered too hastily, may in the end turn the viewer off or at least, leave them confused by its finale. The story involves a freelance cartoon artist (Tom Hulce) who appears to have little going for him. He is separated from his wife (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) with whom he has a daughter. He lives in a shoddy apartment (which looks more like an emptied indoor swimming pool) and in general, he is nothing remarkable. When his apartment is broken into one evening, and two men hold him hostage, his life is abruptly turned upside down. The men, and soon two police detectives, are investigating the whereabouts of his old (mysterious) flame (Virginia Madsen). What first seems like a case of mistaken identity turns into a complex mystery where everyone is a suspect with Hulce at its center trying to prove his innocence. But, what is revealed by its finale is a confusing and only partially explained story of high-end corruption, prostitution, and murder. (I would agree with the viewer who wrote that it's pool of potential talent such as director Wang and lead actor Hulce are squashed by Don Opper, characteristic ability to turn a script into a mess... I would point to 'City Limits' as an egregious example). And for this, even such care with the art direction cannot compensate.
madsagittarian I may be a one-person cult for this picture. I have had a soft spot for it ever since I saw the movie on the late show in 1989. Some of the other reviewers for this title have made a reasonable assertion as to why they don't like SLAMDANCE, and interestingly enough, I understand and agree with their decisions. Yes, this movie is a disjointed mess, but it has a strange beauty on a visceral and emotional level; this sets it apart from way too many films made in the decade which threw everything together in order to seem different, regardless of whether everything gelled. For instance, this film veers uncomfortably from goofy comedy to more sordid material. However, that makes sense as the central character is a cartoonist- a man-child who teeters between the comic book sensibilities of his work, and the demands of the very adult real world (he seldom lives up to his responsibilities). Mr. Drood is a perpetual screw-up; he was barely supportive of his wife and child, and now must deal with unfathomable emotions since he is now implicated in the murder of a fleeting flame.I've never been much of a fan of Virginia Madsen, particularly because this classy, slightly mysterious blonde has never been given good material... at least until recently. But Wayne Wang understands her screen presence perfectly. The highlight of the film is Tom Hulce's scenes with her (set in the movie's past). These moments with the femme fatale are beautiful evocations of allure, desire and implicit danger underneath the colourful settings- classic traditions of film noir. With their saturated hues and sexy jazz soundtrack, these moments work on an almost dreamlike approach.Even though SLAM DANCE is a dog's breakfast of styles and tones, this segment is nonetheless indicative of the film's success on a completely non-literal level. Yes this is another 1980's quirky film which has the obligatory cameo by a punk musician... and the "hip" quotient also given by a Harry Dean Stanton role, but there's just something more about it that makes not just another curiosity piece. The first time I saw it in 1989, I was with two others who didn't like the movie at all. As much as I could understand their reasons why, I still feel that this odd duck of a movie has that special "something"... and I have still felt that after repeated viewings. It either works for you, or it doesn't. It just depends on whether the film hits you on the right emotional level. If you looked up this title because you have a strange attraction to this picture, you're not alone.
jbdean Ready for a wild ride into the underworld?Murder, sex, Mafia, cops, love and marriage ... Slamdance has it all!C.C. Drood* is a cartoonist but his life is anything but a comic strip. When an affair with a mystery woman he meets at a friend's club leads to murder and his implication, life turns upside down for Drood. Just wanting to reunite with his wife and their daughter, Drood has to solve a mystery that even the cops can't figure out. And life begins to imitate art ... the art of being treacherous!==========> *TOM HULCE is C.C. Drood. Tom, again, brings us a complete character ... as real as life. Drood has a funny side, a serious side, a vulnerable side and a loyal side. He shows us the chaos of being caught in a lie and the struggle of trying to straighten it out. Drood is a great role and is done to perfection by Hulce!

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