Next of Kin (1989)

A "so bad it's hilarious" classic from the late 80s, this fine film represents Liam "Scenery Chewer" Neeson's high water mark in the role that he was born to play. Starring as the stereotypical redneck with a stereotypically redneck name ("Briar", y'all! SHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!), Neeson plays the foil to his supposedly reformed and equally inbred brother, "Truman", capably portrayed by "The Swayze."Rest assured, mindless rednecks aren't the only species receiving the stereotype treatment here - Chicago mobsters (including an early performance by Zoolander himself) also manage to get into the act, making for 108 wacky minutes of hijinx, merriment and goofiness, the likes which the Three Stooges would have found to be impressive.So hat's off to Liam Neeson and the pinnacle-topping performance of his mighty career!

Kentucky native Truman Gates (Patrick Swayze) is a Chicago cop married to violinist Jessie (Helen Hunt). His younger brother Gerald (Bill Paxton) follows him to Chicago but is killed by Joey Rosselini (Adam Baldwin). Joey is trying to take over the Isabella crime family. Briar Gates (Liam Neeson) arrives from Kentucky to seek revenge for brother Gerald.This is the hillbillies versus the mob. It is stupid at times but also gritty good at other times. Patrick Swayze does a good job as a guy trying to straddle two worlds. Liam Neeson is surprisingly convincing as the redneck. I was on the fence for much of the movie. Then we got the final ridiculous shoot-out. I had to take one point away for all that stupidity in the cemetery.

Amazingly, I'd never seen this movie, though I'd seen its cover on the rental shelf countless times. It was the passing of Swayze that provided the motivation to see some of his other, lesser known movies.Swayze was as good as always but he didn't really have much to work with here. The plot certainly didn't provide anything we haven't seen a hundred times already. It had a gritty, dirty feel to it so if the director was trying to get that across then he succeeded in this point.The script was rather corny at times, perhaps because that was the way movies were made in this period but perhaps also because it was trying to show "mountain" people. If I was a member of that community I would have been embarrassed to have been portrayed this way but perhaps that is just my ignorance as a foreigner.One of the worthwhile reasons for seeing this movie is to catch a glimpse of some very well known actors before they hit mainstream popularity. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play rather wooden characters which sadly doesn't allow a hint of their talents to shine through. Neeson is excellent and quite believable as a scruffy looking mountain guy. The most out of place actor would be Ben Stiller. Knowing him as we do today it is just hard to take him seriously so in retrospect he is very miscast.The action is pretty dull by today's standards which might have been okay if the plot was complex and the characters well developed. Unfortunately, it makes for a somewhat boring experience. I found the tiny hints of life in the Appalachian Mountains very interesting. If this movie was remade with more emphasis on their culture and the problems they face then it could be an extremely interesting movie, perhaps showing the community in a way similar to how Witness gave a glimpse at Amish life.As it stands, though, it is really just a late night TV movie or for fans of Swayze.

From the score here I see that this movie is not enjoyed by all and is a universally well liked movie, but I thought it was rather good. The plot for me was much better than "Roadhouse" and you had an array of stars in this one to really make the movie good. Not only do you have Swazye, you get Liam Neeson too. Heck, you even have a young Ben Stiller in a small, but important role. The story has a guy from the south in the hills someplace as a cop in a big city. His brother is killed and while on a trip back in the hills his other brother wants revenge so he comes back to the city to seek out his revenge. About all there is to it with the plot though there is a surprise near the end of the film. The plot takes us to a couple of distinctly different locals on the way too as you have the city and you have the mountains too. The bad guys in this one are rather good too and the action is not super shoot em up or anything, but it is fairly exciting to watch. I liked the scene where Liam Neeson's character evaded capture by using trains to get away. In the end it is a bit different and while nothing spectacular it did entertain me.