I saw this film decades ago when it first came out and was baffled by how...mundane it was. It seemed to have wanted to balance the transition of star Anthony Michael Hall from geek to tough guy. For us who know him as "Farmer Ted" it was a hard pill to swallow.
And the filmmakers here knew that. He is a naive kid from Iowa who leaves for the big city. Which allowed Hall to maintain his innocence while playing darker characters.
Still, it seemed like a struggle to get him past the wholesome quality. Even when saddled with broken flower Dizz (Jenny Wright).
In small doses, Hall does a solid job in the lines he's offered. To be frank, out of all the brat pack, he is simply the best actor. Molly Ringwald is horrific, Judd Nelson was type-casted, Andrew McCarthy is awful and Ally Sheedy MAY have befell the same thing Hall does. Which is his looks don't match his acting talent. If you watch closely, Hall is actually AHEAD of his time with his performance in this movie. This is the template of which most police procedurals become for over a decade. In that sense, he is before his time.
The villain is Jeff Kober. A gaunt lizard like baddie who seems to have stolen your bike as a kid. He is that equal parts shady and sleezy. He fits this role in perfect fashion. He seems to have relished this role the same way Billy Drago does in "The Untouchables" They're just weasly tropes of 80's bad guys. In this case, Kober's commitment to awful behavior is one beyond today's bad guys. He's really slimy. And you can see the difference between his version of L. A. street trash and, say...someone like Jerry Levine's version in this movie, who doesn't have the same chops.
Jenny Wright...maybe this was a paycheck movie. But boy, does she phone it in. Part Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, she tries hard to be the bohemian girl you saw a lot of in the 80's. Instead, it comes off as cos-play of those character. In regards of her roles in "Near Dark" I would say, the less she says the better. I wondered if this role wasn't to be be darker. She seemed much more fed up with Los Angeles and their phoniness. And didn't seem afraid to express it. I understand these words, as I am in Los Angeles (which was great to see the city in the 80's). She is awful in this movie. And very uneven. Most of her lines are typical exposition to get the "hero' from one bad scenario to the next. It's disjointed. In fact, there are many moments where you can tell where they either cut the script or decided not to shoot certain segments of the movie.
I feel this is the effect of hired helmer Richard Tuggle. A somewhat bland director to begin with. He is the J. Lee Thompson without the pedigree to do mediocre cinema like this.
Anyway, this film is unfortunately dated in the world of ultra-realistic drama. It starts off really strong and downshifts into preposterous scenarios where simple common sense could have/should have solved his problems immediately.
I think this stalled plans for Anthony Michael Hall's adult roles. But his resurgence in 2020's is a testament to the training ground he had in flicks like this.
Yeah, it's a bland time waster. And if you have a hankering for 80's Los Angeles, it's a pretty good one to watch.
And the filmmakers here knew that. He is a naive kid from Iowa who leaves for the big city. Which allowed Hall to maintain his innocence while playing darker characters.
Still, it seemed like a struggle to get him past the wholesome quality. Even when saddled with broken flower Dizz (Jenny Wright).
In small doses, Hall does a solid job in the lines he's offered. To be frank, out of all the brat pack, he is simply the best actor. Molly Ringwald is horrific, Judd Nelson was type-casted, Andrew McCarthy is awful and Ally Sheedy MAY have befell the same thing Hall does. Which is his looks don't match his acting talent. If you watch closely, Hall is actually AHEAD of his time with his performance in this movie. This is the template of which most police procedurals become for over a decade. In that sense, he is before his time.
The villain is Jeff Kober. A gaunt lizard like baddie who seems to have stolen your bike as a kid. He is that equal parts shady and sleezy. He fits this role in perfect fashion. He seems to have relished this role the same way Billy Drago does in "The Untouchables" They're just weasly tropes of 80's bad guys. In this case, Kober's commitment to awful behavior is one beyond today's bad guys. He's really slimy. And you can see the difference between his version of L. A. street trash and, say...someone like Jerry Levine's version in this movie, who doesn't have the same chops.
Jenny Wright...maybe this was a paycheck movie. But boy, does she phone it in. Part Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, she tries hard to be the bohemian girl you saw a lot of in the 80's. Instead, it comes off as cos-play of those character. In regards of her roles in "Near Dark" I would say, the less she says the better. I wondered if this role wasn't to be be darker. She seemed much more fed up with Los Angeles and their phoniness. And didn't seem afraid to express it. I understand these words, as I am in Los Angeles (which was great to see the city in the 80's). She is awful in this movie. And very uneven. Most of her lines are typical exposition to get the "hero' from one bad scenario to the next. It's disjointed. In fact, there are many moments where you can tell where they either cut the script or decided not to shoot certain segments of the movie.
I feel this is the effect of hired helmer Richard Tuggle. A somewhat bland director to begin with. He is the J. Lee Thompson without the pedigree to do mediocre cinema like this.
Anyway, this film is unfortunately dated in the world of ultra-realistic drama. It starts off really strong and downshifts into preposterous scenarios where simple common sense could have/should have solved his problems immediately.
I think this stalled plans for Anthony Michael Hall's adult roles. But his resurgence in 2020's is a testament to the training ground he had in flicks like this.
Yeah, it's a bland time waster. And if you have a hankering for 80's Los Angeles, it's a pretty good one to watch.