ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE **** Of **** grade is A-
By Jason Overbeck
Robert Blake plays John Wintergreen, a short motorcycle cop who wants to be a detective. He gets an opportunity when he stumbles upon a dead body, that might be a suicide, and does solid investigative work. He takes notes about everything from the body to the shell fragments in the bread loaf. When he tells off a lazy coroner he catches the eyes of a real detective who takes him along as his driver. Together they investigate the death, with the detective showing the motorcycle cop the ropes.
Why this film doesn't have more of a following is a mystery to me. It is quirky, funny, exciting and violent. It is a wonderful character study and smart crime yarn. It has motorcycle chases and flashy photography to rival some of the best. Every actor gives a strong and believable performance. The standout being Robert Blake, most recently seen as the mystery man in Lost Highway. He creates a complex and smart character that has a lot more going for him when he's not over ambitious.
Blake also gets some subtly hilarious scenes where his smarts and vertical challenge provide some memorable moments. My favorite sneaks across the screen when Blake pulls over a man for speeding. He finds out this man is a detective and starts a friendly conversation. After the exchange Blake hands the detective the ticket and stands quietly calm as the detective throws a fit.
Electra Glide in Blue has an ending that comes from a distant galaxy but that adds to the film's charm and tone, which is always off kilter. I strongly recommend it to fans of action films sprinkled with art sensibilities and independent flavoring. It reminds me of the tone reached in the great Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye. The film is all about little scenes and intelligent genre tackling.
Write to Jason Overbeck at root-for-badguys@juno.com
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