"15 Minutes" -- A Waste of Time by Homer Yen (c) 2001
"15 Minutes" was probably a good idea when it was just an idea and not the laborious 130-minute movie that it ultimately became. Probably envisioned as an issue-driven film about the public's increasing fascination with bizarre social behavior, this film seemed to want to make a statement about how askew society's moral compass has become.
Our appetite for the obscene has mutated and swelled. It has helped to buoy shock programs like Roseanne and Jerry Springer, spawn circus-like programs like Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire and the XFL, and has even reinvented the familiar-but-staid news reporting format with efforts such as NakedNews.com.
Our standards of decency have considerably decreased, especially in a metropolitan area such as New York City in which the film is set. With its diversity and anything-goes atmosphere, it has degenerated into a freakish arena of opportunism where the most bizarre and frightful are often (and unjustly) rewarded.
You can blame their undeserving fame on people like Richard Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer), a tabloid TV reporter whose personal mantra is "if it bleeds, it leads" (referring to the kinds of pieces he wants to show). Ratings are all that he cares about, and to that end, he'll risk his life to reveal the identity of a psychotic killer or air the cold-blooded murder of a celebrated public official. Richard is a double-edged sword, representing the aid and hindrances that arise from selfishness and neutrality. He's an interesting character, but everything else is extraordinarily dull.
"15 Minutes" ultimately becomes nothing more than a flat police thriller in which two psychopaths use their infamy to become rich. This duo realizes that publishers and movie studios will pay for an absurd story, the double jeopardy rule is a huge legal loophole, and you can always plead insanity and never have to go to jail. "No one is responsible for what they do," comments one of them. So, off they go on a killing spree where each additional victim means more dollars for them.
On the case are Police Detective Eddie (Robert DeNiro) and Arson Inspector Jordy (Edward Burns). Individually, these two are likeable characters. Eddie is a straight shooter while Jordy is earnest. But together, the two never develop any chemistry. There's a noticeable lack of character development. The characters (in fact, every character) just seem to be doing their own thing as if they were different planets following different orbits.
Actually, to give them some added dimension, there is a romantic subplot involving both Eddie and his girlfriend and Jordy and a pretty witness. Jordy's relationship is more pertinent to the story, but the DeNiro romance could have been eliminated. This element seemed needlessly distracting.
While "15 Minutes" is marginal at best, we can sense the passion that the filmmakers have for this topic and the ideas that they wanted to get across. The message is admirable, but the film lacks polish and wit and feels very rough around the edges. In the end, the good guys get their justice and the bad guys get theirs, but we will never get ours.
Grade: C- S: 2 out of 3 V: 3 out of 3 L: 2 out of 3
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