Blue City (1986)

What's good about this flick? The gorgeous Anita Morris plays Nelson's stepmother and the woman oozes sex appeal. A wonderfully smarmy performance by Paul Winfield as a corrupt police chief. David Caruso acts circles around his co-star Judd Nelson. Some really nice shots of the coastline while Nelson rides his hog down the interstate. Ry Cooder's bluesy score is just a treat to listen to and captures the atmosphere of the settings.What's bad about it? Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson aren't trying at all; they look like they're here for the paycheck and nothing more. They exhibit no chemistry in any of their scenes together, and Nelson looks like he's reciting all of his lines in the least interested manner possible, and Sheedy looks as though she'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, these two performers are probably the reason why most people would want to see this movie. I say skip it and see them in St. Elmo's Fire or better yet The Breakfast Club.

I saw this movie in the theaters in 1986 as a freshman in college when I was really in to bad movies. "Good movies are a dime a dozen, but bad movies are forever" I used to say. This film changed my mind. It's poorly acted, and directed, and written, and utterly unlikable. It is not, however, bad enough to be truly remarkable (like, say, "Crush Groove"), nor bad enough to serve as a cautionary example (Like, say, "Psycho Girls") it's simply a vanity piece with two over-paid, under-talented stars phoning in a "Performance" to get money to spend on coke. Judd and Ally were a couple during the filming of this movie, and yet have less onscreen chemistry than Adam West and Max Gail pretending to be gay in a recent episode of Drew Carey. In the end, this movie set out to leave a dead 90 minutes in my memory, and it succeded. This is not a movie for watching, it is a movie for lying down and avoiding.

Judd Nelson does some butt kicking in this film. This was released during the Brat Pack days following Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire. The 3rd film in a row that paired Judd with Ally Sheedy. The subject matter is serious but Judd brings much needed comedy to his role, kind of an everyman Rambo character. An entertaining film to watch especially if you like Judd.

This movie has always been lambasted but I have seen it a few times over the years. It has some exciting action scenes and captures the seedy atmosphere of a corrupt Florida town very well. Judd Nelson does his usual smirk acting job but nice supporting roles by David Caruso and Paul Winfield help compensate.