MAD CITY (director: Costa-Gavras; screenwriter: Tom Matthews; cinematographer: Patrick Bloosier; cast: John Travolta (Sam Baily), Dustin Hoffman (Max Brackett), Alan Alda (Kevin Hollander), Mia Kirshner (Laurie), Blythe Danner (Mrs. Banks), Robert Prosky (Lou Potts), 1997)
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Costa-Gavras (Z/Missing) presents a film about the media exploiting the news and expects us to be surprised to find out that all they care about is the ratings. THE BIG CARNIVAL did this theme better, as long ago as 1951. Travolta, in Elvis sideburns, is the not-too-swift, common man type, who is so upset with being fired as a museum guard that, at first, he doesn't even tell his wife about it. Later, he comes back to talk politely to his boss (Blythe) about getting his job back, but for some inexplicable reason, he also comes with a gun and a bag full of dynamite. Soon things go wrong and he is holding school children in the museum as hostage, as he accidently shoots a black security guard.
Dustin, who is in the museum to do a fluff story for the small media market tv station he now works for, after his fall from grace with big-time national tv, takes this story and creates it to fit his needs to get recognized again: to regain his position in the big media market. The networks pick up this story as the public shows an interest in it, and the cable-ready mindset of Dustin befriends the sadsack Travolta and uses him to keep the story hot, with himself in the center of it.
The film is one-dimensional in scope, no one has room to grow. The amusing relationship between Travolta and Dustin captures our attention for most of the film, but nothing interesting happens. The only new twist to the story, is that it isn't the anchor newsmen who are in charge anymore, those who could smell a news story even in their sleep, but it is the young corporate head yuppie types, interested only in the bottom line and what the public opinion polls state, they are the ones who now control what the public sees. The world of the media is shown to be worse than ever, as this new breed of executives are not really news people.
The actors tried too hard to make something out of nothing. In the end, it is an old news story that we got-- but this time it is manipulated by the movie director instead of the anchor man and the new corporate executives.
GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
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