SEARCH AND DESTROY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 5.5
U.S. Availability: limited release beginning 4/95 Running Length: 1:33 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, profanity)
Starring: Griffin Dunne, Illeana Douglas, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, John Turturro, Ethan Hawke, Rosanna Arquette Director: David Salle Producers: Ruth Chamy, Dan Lupovitz, and Elie Cohn Screenplay: Michael Almereyda based on the play by Howard Korder Cinematography: Bobby Bukowski Music: Elmer Bernstein Released by October Films
There are essentially two ways to do a satire: go for all-out zaniness with an overload of one-liners and sight gags (a la AIRPLANE), or try for something more subtle. This second tactic, if used correctly, is almost always more scathing. Robert Altman employed it for THE PLAYER, which is pretty much regarded as the ultimate skewering of Hollywood. With SEARCH AND DESTROY, director David Salle tries unsuccessfully for something similar. Even at its most effective, this film comes across as a pale imitation of far better pictures.
SEARCH AND DESTROY opens by introducing us to Martin Mirkheim (Griffin Dunne), a slimy "entrepreneur" who finds himself $147,956 in debt to the IRS (exclusive of interest and penalties). To solve his financial woes, he decides to make a movie based on a book called DANIEL STRONG: AN ADVENTURE STORY, written by one of Martin's heroes, cable access pop psychologist Dr. Luthor Waxling (Dennis Hopper). However, to get the rights to the book, Martin must first come up with several hundred thousand dollars in cash. So, with his assistant Marie (played with wide-eyed vivacity by Illeana Douglas) in tow, Martin heads for New York City. Once there, he goes to the offices of a supposed drug dealer named Kim (Christopher Walken), in hopes of raising the necessary money. Much to Martin's surprise, disappointment, and embarrassment, Kim turns out to be a legitimate businessman, but that doesn't mean he might not be willing to arrange a little drug deal--just to help out a friend.
Parts of this film seem a little too reminiscent of THE BIG PICTURE and NAKED IN NEW YORK, movies which, like this one, deal with the sacrifices and tribulations of getting a motion picture made. The difference here is that, unlike the protagonists of PICTURE and NAKED, Martin isn't concerned about protecting the integrity of his script. Actually, he could care less about the integrity of anything, as long as he gets the money.
Some of the core ideas in SEARCH AND DESTROY have potential. Take, for example, the premise of approaching a supposed gangster who's not a gangster but who's willing to try being one. The film has fun with this, at least to start with, chiefly because of wonderful performances by Christopher Walken (as Kim, a man determined to "do it with passion") and John Turturro (as a profanity-spewing small-time hood with terrible taste in wigs and clothes). Eventually, however, this element of the plot descends into a series of tedious episodes punctuated by moments of extreme violence. This is an example of how something that starts out fresh can end up boring and derivative.
There are a number of enjoyable, sometimes hilarious moments in SEARCH AND DESTROY, but the framework joining them doesn't work particularly well. This is a case when the whole is vastly inferior to its parts. The focus is too diffuse, attempting to satirize everything from '80s greed and motivational TV programs to motion picture making. SEARCH AND DESTROY is very much hit-and-miss, and might have been less grating had it done more of the former and less of the latter.
- James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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