Cat Chaser (1989)

Yeah, I know it's a flawed film, I mean, I caught it one night, LATE at night, on cable TV when I was a kid. HBO to be specific and at an hour reserved for only failed and low quality films.In other words, I found it at a place where movies go to die. The equivalent of the bargain box at a toy store.But, I liked it. It wasn't the usual thriller and that's saying a lot given that thrillers, like action movies, all have relatively the same plot. They tend to be like the Harley Davidson store crowd as in they all dress the same and claim they are rebels. Cat Chaser was something different. The plot stood out. Peter Weller did as best a job he could. The cast did as best a job as they could.It was just, the director didn't really know what to do with the script, which was, I learned, (thank you IMDB) based on an Elmore Leonard novel...and that sort of says it all.The writer, Elmore Leonard, isn't exactly a literary great. He has an irritating vernacular. BUT, he also has a talent for creating unique characters and unique settings and situations and stringing them all together into a coherent plot.Leonard is a pulp writer, but he was a pulp writer that was original in his approach to just about everything and his stories are a pleasure to read.And, when, like this one, they are adapted to the big screen, that uniqueness carries over. Even in a bad film, as this one was--albeit a bad film with good acting--it becomes a story that you haven't really encountered before and you won't encounter again.So give it a watch, it's Elmore Leonard, you aren't seeing a great film, but you are going to see a story you haven't encountered before, and to me, that alone is worth 10 out of 10 stars.Don't rate it on it's cinematic prowess, watch it for the plot, it's new, it's original, and, even if its badly done, we need a lot more of that, especially now, when almost everything we see is exactly like almost everything else we are seeing.

Of all the Leonard stories put to film, this to me is the best. The voice-over along with the visuals carry the book's feel, both plot and dialogue. Peter Weller has a subtleness that breaks through his seeming deadpan, and Charles Durning couldn't be better at ambiguity. Kelly McGillis is more than a pretty and sexy figure. All the characters are mixtures of good and not so good, and as typical Leonard characters they work out the balances of their desires. The direction is great. It keeps you moving, wondering, and figuring out the mystery. The story has several components that mix well as they are revealed. And there is the basis of reality to this film. It helps to recall the invasion of the Dominican Republic and the practices of torture attributed to the head of police at the time.One of this films wonderful attributes is the score by jazz pianist/composer Chick Corea. It surprises me that no one has mentioned it.And lastly, let me say that the film is exciting. Viewing after viewing it holds up well.

It's no secret that "Cat Chaser" was taken away from director Abel Ferrara and slapped together by committee right around the time of the Vestron bankruptcy. Consequently, Ferrara has disavowed this film. But he shouldn't. While it has some murky plotting, no doubt due to the re-editing, it's quite an interesting, evocative adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel. Ferrara always impresses with his sharp direction, and the wonderful art direction really captures the feel of sleazy bars, motel rooms, and the Dominican Republic. Peter Weller is fine, Kelly McGillis is quite uninhibited in her numerous nude scenes, and it's fun to hear Charles Durning pronounce "toilet" as "tur-let." "Cat Chaser" is a lost treasure from the late 80's worthy of rediscovery and a director's edition DVD.

"Cat Chaser" is an uninspired and confused novel knock-off which doesn't equal the sum of its many talented parts. The film involves romance, lust, greed, murder, deceit, etc. but comes off flat, one dimensional, and lacking the passion of its plot. An okay journeyman B-flick which should have been better but still has its moments and might satisfy the needy couch potato.