CHASERS
A Film Review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1994 Michael J. Legeros
Directed by Dennis Hopper (EASY RIDER, BACKTRACK, COLORS, THE HOT SPOT)
Written by Jon Batteer, John Rice and Dan Gilroy
Cast Tom Berenger
William McNamara (STEALING HOME, TEXASVILLE)
Erika Eleniak (UNDER SIEGE, BEVERLY HILLBILLIES)
with
Crispin Glover
Dean Stockwell
Gary Busey
Seymour Cassell
Federic Forrest
Marilu Henner
Dennis Hopper
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language, nudity, sex, and crew-cuts) Running Time 112 minutes
===
"Welcome to Jarhead City."
- Tom Berenger to William McNamara
as their characters arrive at Camp Lejeune
Sad is the day when a new film from Dennis Hopper-- the man who helped defined a generation with EASY RIDER-- is heralded with hardly any fanfare. Granted, CHASERS is not exactly industrial-strength movie- making, but Hopper's first film (as a director) since THE HOT SPOT is an mildly agreeable road-pic about a pair of Navy men (Berenger and McNamara) who run into trouble escorting a military prisoner back to base. Shades of THE LAST DETAIL? Not exactly.
The story introduces Eddie Devane (McNamara)-- a swaggering smooth- talker assigned to "chaser duty" on the day before his discharge. His orders are to report to gruff security officer "Rock" Reilly (Berenger) and assist in the transport of a "dangerous" prisoner from Camp Lejeune. What neither man knows is that their cargo (Eleniak) is female and better suited to the pages of Playboy than prison. That small surprise turns into a big problem when the boys discover that appearances are quite deceiving.
There isn't much of a plot to CHASERS, and the script's idea of sophistication is clogging a fuel tank with tampons. What little story there *is* disappears somewhere in the second hour, but that's no problem because the leads are okay and they keep the chemistry going when the plot isn't.
McNamara is the best of the bunch and the only one with anything resembling a character. He's fun to watch because he recalls a younger Tom Cruise with his doesn't-have-a-clue-and-doesn't-know-it smile. Berenger glares and growls through his "role" and Eleniak weakly smiles through hers. To be fair, the actress tries her hand at a couple moving monologues. Key word: *tries.*
They hit the road in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and start south on a trip teeming with local color. Hopper's hopper is filled with monster trucks and BBQ huts and sign after sign for yet *another* Baptist church. Anyone who's travelled the length of coastal Carolina can appreciate a fist-fight staged on a tacky miniature-golf green. (Is there any other kind?)
The fringe also features a bevy of bit-parts including Hopper as a travelling salesman with more than just fabric samples in his trunk; Gary Busey as a Navy-hating marine; Dean Stockwell as a golf-playing Porsche salesman; and Crispin Glover as McNamara's nervous partner-in-crime.
Together, they make one happy family that keeps CHASERS from sinking lower than it should.
BOTTOM LINE: CHASERS is an mildly agreeable road-pic about a pair of
Navy men who run into trouble escorting a military
prisoner back to base. The guilty pleasure here doesn't
come from the leads, but, rather, from the local color
and a bevy of interesting bit-parts.
GRADE: C+
.
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