The Perfect Host
We all like David Hyde Pierce, but it seems he has nothing to do. How to use him? He's done animated voices (A Bugs Life), and Tony Randell like fay supporting characters (Down With Love), but nothing that puts him at the center of attention; even his Niles Crane played second fiddle to Kelsey Grammer. But first time film maker Nick Tomnay had an idea.
In The Perfect Host, a kind of cross breed between Psycho, Dexter, and Hard Candy, Pierce plays Warrick Wilson, a character of multiple characters. We first meet Warrick when the films marginal lead (Clayne Crawford), a bank robber on the lamb, knocks on his door and precedes to 'con his way inside' faining having been mugged and a mutual friendship with 'Julia', a name he got off of a postcard in Warrick's mail box. At first Warrick appears to be a cultured, presumably gay man who is preparing to host a dinner party; he offers Crawford wine. Crawford believes his rouse is working until a report about his recent robbery and wanted status comes across the radio. Crawford turns on Warrick, threatening him, commanding that he cancel his dinner party and put him up for the night on pain of death. Warrick however has drugged Crawford's wine, he passes out, and the party gets started.
A sadistic evening ensues, with Warrick torturing and humiliating Crawford in various ways over both psychological and physical over the course of a very long night. Warrick has his dinner party only its not quite what Crawford might have expected, because it turns out that only Warrick can see and hear his guests. This is a great show piece for Pierce, who gets to let lose and seems to really enjoy the part, towards the end of the film he dons a personality quite different from anything we have seen before, and while it doesn't truly work it lets him stretch a little. Crawford's adequate, not much expected of him, though he does get a flash back story that renders him slightly more complicated then uppers at surfice. Not a lot of other characters in this one, mostly Warricks imaginary party guests, and Helen Reddy unexpectedly playing Warricks nosey, Jehovah's Witness neighbour.
In many ways this is only fair, but Pierce's almost hypnotic performance and a couple of good twists push what could have been an only mediocre outing into full Good status.
Suddenly
Vaguely norish, imminently disposable 'political thriller' with canned screen play and performances. Sterling Hayden is the Sheriff of the small town of Suddenly, a quite post-war berg that's about to get an unexpected visitor or two. Hayden is woodenly trying to woo a war widow (Nancy Gates) with a young son (Kim Charney). Gates won't give Hayden the time of day, even turning down his invitations to accompany her to church, although son Charney thinks he's cool because he has a gun. Nancy doesn't like guns, she lives in perpetual mourning of her late husband who was killed in 'the war' three years before (so that would make it Korea). Nancy lives with her father-in-law (James Gleason) in a hill top house overlooking the town train yard.
Sheriff Hayden is called down to the train station to receive an urgent secret message through the town telegraph operator. It seems the President of the United States will be stopping by to disembark a train and take a motorcade to a near by ranch (I guess the president is going on vacation?). Hayden teams up with the highway patrol and visiting secret service agents to ensure the presidents security during his brief stop, extra important as it seems the chief executive has recently become the target of a suspected assassination plot. Chief agent Willis Bouchey is pleasantly surprised to find that the owner of the house on the hill is (conveniently) his retried former boss from the Secret Service. Bouchley and Hayden head up to the Benson house to visit Gleason and insure that this prime shooting point is secure. They are too late.
Frank Sinatra and a couple of associates have already arrived at the Benson house, first posing as FBI agents sent to scout the place for the presidents visit, but quickly reveling themselves to be the intended assassins. The family is held hostage, Hayden and Bouchey stop by, Bouchey's killed and Hayden's wounded. Later the TV repairmen shows up and is also taken hostage. Sinatra is a crack shot, decorated in the war (this time the war in question is WWII), he doesn't know whose hired him, he's mostly in it to stoke his ego. But can the unstable Sinatra's pride and ego be used against him to foil the assassination? Can Nancy overcome her aversion to guns to save those she loves? And will the darn television get fixed.
It's pat, wooden, and the script's paint by numbers composition draws undue attention to its self. Thank goodness its only about 75 minutes long, because this is a rather poor movie.
Kisses for my President
Comedy about the first First Husband. Leslie McCloud (Polly Bergen) has just ridden a landslide of female support to become the first women President of the United States (not a lot of experience, though she came from a political family and has served as a judge). Her husband Thad (Fred MacMurray, in full family comedy mode) was forced to sell his electronics business to avoid conflicts of interest relating to government contracts, and now finds himself stuck in the White House with nothing too do. It seems the whole role of the presidents husband has been surprisingly un-thought out by Bergen's advisers and staff, in fact they haven't even settled on a formal title yet.
With his wife generally too busy for him, and his young son and teenage daughter just trying to adjust to life with secret service protection, MacMurray finds himself spending lots of time in his femininely decorated office, and trying to engage his secret service men in conversation. Then Leslie finds something for him too do. Valdez (Eli Wallach) the dictator of an unspecified Latin American country has come to Washington in the hopes of renewing U.S. aid for his crocked regime. The President is dubious, reluctant to bend to her general election opponent, Senate Majority Leader Edward Andrews demands that aid be renewed. While contemplating what to do Bergen sends her husband out to show Valdez the sights which results in various comic episodes, including a car race, a speed boat race, and a brawl at a strip club. MacMurray must face Andrews down at Senate hearings regrading accusations that his fight with Valdez was orchestrated to provide an excuse for cutting off foreign aid (huh, how dose this make sense or even matter). McMurray bests Andrews by exposing the ties between Valdez's government and the Senators former law firm. Then Bergen gets pregnant and resigns her office for her health and the safety of her unborn child.
The pregnancy plot not very feminist, but Bergen comes off as a competent, able leader, and a pretty good mother as well. MacMurray gives the type of performance you hire him for in the type of role he usually played, good natured, pron to misadventure, vaguely irked. It's nothing special, but is moderately entertaining. Fair
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