Perfect Strangers

source: Perfect Strangers

My review was written in June 1985 after watching the movie on Embassy video cassette. "Perfect Strangers" is a dull suspense thriller shot in New York under the title "Blind Alley" two years ago by indie filmmaker Larry Cohen, before his recent pics "Special Effects" and "The Stuff". Film was released briefly in Indianapolis last November by distrib New Line and now is entering the home video market. Anne Carlisle (of cult hit "Liquid Sky") toplines as Sally, mother of two-year-old Matthew (Matthew Stockley), who refuses to help the police when her infant witnesses a gangland slaying in an alley near their Greenwich Village apartment. The killer is Johnny (Brad Rijn, male lead in "Smithereens"), a young guy with no criminal record who works for an organized crime syndicate. Johnny introduces himself to Sally and convinces himself the kid doesn't recognize him, but his crime bosses insist he kill the child to avoid the chance that the police will be able to use psychologists (as happened in a real-life case in the Midwest) to have the kid help create a positive identification. Johnny refuses, instead becoming romantically involved with Sally and even seemingly protects the child from its father, her estranged husband Fred (John Woehrle). Pic climaxes in Johnny kidnapping the child and having a fatal confrontation with Sally. Low-budget picture suffers from bland, inexpressive acting and routine development of its premise (there never is any indication that the kid could actually finger the killer). In particular, Carlisle is styled as very plain, with a most unbecoming hairdo, resulting in none of the allure of her dual role debut in "Liquid Sky".

Hit-man Johnny (well played with brooding intensity by Brad Rijn) carves up a guy in an alley way. Two-year-old boy Matthew (a remarkably good portrayal by the adorable Matthew Stockley) witness the rub out. Johnny befriends Matthew's spunky and self-reliant single mom Sally (a fine and sympathetic performance by Anne Carlise of "Liquid Sky" fame) and plans on eventually killing Matthew. Cult writer/director Larry Cohen makes vivid and inspired use of the dingy New York City locations, firmly grounds the story in a totally plausible everyday reality populated by complex and credible true-to-life characters, and wrings plenty of white-knuckle suspense from the absorbing premise (a scene with Johnny and Matthew on a swing in an empty public park is truly harrowing). Rijn's Johnny makes for a fascinatingly conflicted main character: While his capacity for savage violence is genuinely frightening, Johnny's smooth charm, handsome looks, and anguished struggle with his own conscience ensure that he's nonetheless still a likable guy. The sound acting from a tip-top cast qualifies as a major asset: Rijn and Carlise do sterling work in the lead roles, with excellent support from John Woehrle as Sally's jerky ex-husband Fred, Stephen Lack as meddlesome detective Lieutenant Burns, Ann Magnuson as Sally's angry man-hating radical feminist friend Malda, and Zachary Hains as wise old Mafia capo Moletti. Paul Glickman's slick cinematography gives the picture a nice bright look. Dwight Dixon's moody'n'jazzy score also does the trick. An unjustly neglected and underrated sleeper.

New York filmmaker Larry Cohen has certainly made some memorable movies in his career, but "Perfect Strangers" has to be considered a considerable lesser effort by him. It gets off to a promising start, setting up the situation and characters in just a few minutes. Elsewhere in the movie, there are some moments of interesting direction that give the movie an almost documentary-like feeling. However, the majority of the movie is a letdown. After the intriguing beginning, the movie abruptly slows down to a snail-like pace where little to nothing of significance is happening. The relationship between the Brad Rijn and Anne Carlisle is also weak, with too little time showing the growing relationship between the two. (It also doesn't help that each character is each off-screen for a significant amount of time.) The low budget also sinks the movie, with poor cinematography and threadbare production values, including a very dated and cheesy musical score. I got the sense that Cohen's heart really wasn't in this project, despite being the writer as well as director. Skip it.

Some nice shots and a few moments of suspense still don't help Perfect Strangers from dragging a bit too much. It's one of Larry Cohen's more down to earth films without monster babies or blob-like yogurt, but not a lot of the script makes sense and it ends with more of a thud than a bang.

Larry Cohen IS a skilled director, having brought cult classics like The Stuff and God Told Me To. I have no idea what happened to that passion in 1984's Perfect Strangers, but the entire movie feels like it's on the verge of a flatline. Despite having a good cast and great cinematography, all players seem to sleepwalk their way through deadpan deliveries and tedious dialogue. Anne Carlisle, who sizzled in Liquid Sky, seems utterly detached here as the lead. Many exchanges feel like early rehearsals, with several actors blandly speaking through their lines. Then there's the plot, which is just too silly to suspend disbelief. Our lead's 3-year-old boy is seen witnessing a murder by a hitman. At the concern of his bosses, he's forced to befriend his mother and told to kill him. I'm pretty sure no court would really entertain a toddler's accusations. The details of how these people come to know and interact with each other is even more absurd. The hit man brazenly follows this woman around for days. Even though she's noticed this, she's flattered by it and immediately tries to get a date. Shortly afterwards, he's handling her kid and sleeping at her house. Pretty bold for a single mom in New York City. Very few scenes actually progress the plot in a meaningful way, or even build character relationships. The aforementioned dispassion only makes it worse. What should be climatic situations feel underwhelming, poorly acted, and just plain cheesy. Add in the dated (even for its time) made-for-TV style soundtrack, and it's just a real challenge to get through. That's not to say there isn't anything redeeming about Perfect Strangers. Larry Cohen is good visual director, and seeing classic, gritty NYC is a real treat. We also get an almost documentary-like glimpse into feminist fringe groups of the day, which is not something I've seen a lot of in 80s movies. Despite all the potential this film could have had with the talent involved, it really just feels like everybody on set was just ready for it to be done; and I was too.

This low-budget crime drama deserves a second look (unfortunately it is currently unavailable in video). It is a good example of modern film noir, with its gritty realism, excellent New York location photography, and moody score. The story involves, Johnny, a hitman (played by Brad Rijn), whose contract hit on a gangland rival is witnessed by a three year old boy, playing in his backyard. Johnny's initial motivation to "eliminate" the one witness to the crime (under orders of his mob boss) becomes conflicted by his growing romantic involvement with the boy's mother, Sally, (played by Anne Carlisle). Occasional semicomic relief is provided by the incomparable Ann Magnuson, in the role of a male-hating ultra-feminist and best friend of Sally. The story is by no means perfect and the ending somewhat disappointing. But its appeal lies in its offbeat look and quirky directing and acting. This is a film with definite cult potential.

One thing I always loved about Cohen's scripts is he could always find the smallest hook and exploit the concept to its fullest potential. This is a great example of that with an emphasis on small. Mafia hitman Johnny (Brad Rijn) offs a drug connection in a back alley, but notices a 2-year-old boy saw him. The mob doesn't sit well with this - the "no women, no kids" rule apparently on hold that day - and wants the kid offed before he...baby talks? So Johnny goes about befriending the boy's single mother, Sally (Anne Carlisle), in order to get close to him. Because, you know, saying, "Jesus, guys, the kid is only two and I'm pretty sure he won't identify me in a line up" won't work. It is to Cohen's credit that he can make such a reeeeee-diculous premise last for 90 minutes, but this is not one of King Cohen's best, for sure. There are some admirable parts though. He captures New York City really well and there are some amusing smaller roles (Otto von Wernherr is hilarious as a private eye vit a zick German accent). Cohen also shows some balls as he steals footage during a major feminist rally one NYC night and also has a confrontation between Sally and her ex that clearly no one on the busy streets knew was filming as a crowd gawks at them arguing (look for Cohen cameos in both scenes). In the end, however, it is hard to take the scenario seriously, especially when mafioso types are talking about how to silence a 2-year-old.

Greatly enjoyed this low budget film starring Anne Carlisle, (Sally) and Brad Rifin, (Johnny) and a little boy who becomes the real star of the show. This picture opens up with two men going down an alley in New York City and one of them gets knifed to death along with his throat cut from left to right. This is a mob rub out, however, there is an eye witness and the killer sees him face to face. The killer tells his mob bosses about the witness to his crime and that he will search the streets around the area of the killing. Brad Rijin, (Johnny) plays a mobster who meets up with a young gal named Sally, (Anne Carlisle) and the two of them pretty soon start making love, however, Johnny is only using Sally in order to gain her confidence and at the same time kill the witness to his crime. Entertaining film with great scenes of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Twin Towers in the background, rather sad. Enjoy.

After a Mafia hit man kills his target in a back alley, he looks up to notice a toddler has seen what he has done. When the mother comes out and notices the body, she goes about things as if her son didn't see anything. Under pressure by the Mafia to do something about it, he befriends the mother of the child to see how much the kid can put together of what he saw. The pressure starts to build as the Mafia is constantly on his back to rid the kid, while the boy's estrange father is trying his best to get back into the child and mother's life and the police are getting suspicious. Style and mood features strongly in director/writer Larry Cohen's understated low-budget noir-like thriller. It's an atmospheric nail-biter in the old tradition of showing little in the way of explosive currents, but rather developing on the tight and emotionally realistic situation captured in the authentically haunting and forcible New York locations. Cohen's serviceable direction clearly cooks up an eerie presence from its shadowy urban backdrop that works favourably with Dwight Dixon's lingering smoky jazz cues throughout the stirring score and Paul Glickman's prominently moody cinematography complements it all nicely. The editing is swiftly concise. Even with its cheap origins, it has a solid professional ambiance that goes onto make it one highly effective presentation. Cohen's cynically terse script swoops right into the social commentary, as on today's menu is a feminist stance, children caught between feuding parents and the exploitation of their naïve innocence. There are few offbeat touches, but for most part the premise is played straight, as it did lack the sharp-laced wit we've come to expect. This dry touch only heightened the taut nature, which leads to a potent conclusion. Sometimes holes can show up and at times the pacing can succumb to stodgy handling, but these moments are a minor fracture to the overall feel. Anne Carlisle's soothing performance is that of elegance, but also burning conviction as the mother. In a disquieting and subtle turn, Brad Rijn perfectly portrays his laconic character with a lurking menace that might drop his guard. Mathew Stockley as the child definitely passes the muster. In short, but extremely quirky parts are Ann Magnuson (as a feminist man hater) and Stephen Lack (stuck up police Lieutenant). Re-watching this interesting and sorely overlooked Cohen entry, goes on to prove what a versatile filmmaker he is.