A Slight Case of Murder (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Steven Schachter

Writers (WGA):

Donald E. Westlake (book)
William H. Macy (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

19 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

A film critic (William H. Macy) accidentally kills his lover during a spat in which she falls and hits her head...

Plot Keywords:

Film Critic | Blackmail | Accidental Killing | Private Detective | Spiral Staircase

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

William H. Macy	...	Terry Thorpe
Adam Arkin	...	Det. Fred Stapelli
Felicity Huffman	...	Kit Wannamaker
James Cromwell	...	John Edgerson
Julia Campbell	...	Patricia Stapelli
James Pickens Jr.	...	Det. Larry Gray
Paul Mazursky	...	John Brant
Vincent Pastore	...	Cabby
Michael McMurtry	...	Scott
Stephanie Belding	...	Laura Penny
Vik Sahay	...	Bob
Wenna Shaw	...	Brant's assistant
Len Doncheff	...	Mr. Petrovsky
Tanja Jacobs	...	Bank teller
Vito Rezza	...	Capt. O'Donnell

Also Known As:

A Travesty

Runtime:

94 min | Israel:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Iceland:12 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Firebrand Productions

Quotes:

Terry Thorpe: If you're going to commit a murder -- and I don't recommend it -- one thing you should definitely not do is sleep with the investigating officer's wife. It just makes for a lot of unnecessary complications.

Movie Connections:

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

A nifty little postmodern anti-Columbo

Okay, I love Bill Macy, who's invariably fun to watch, with those pouchy eyes and that "please don't kick me again" expression-- or maybe it's "please don't kick me again so hard." And I love Donald Westlake, one of the best writers of light capers on the scene today. Westlake wrote the novel on which this is based, which I seem to recall reading as "Enough," not "A Travesty," which is what it says in the credits. The combination of these two guys is inspired, all the better in that Macy co-wrote the adaptation and tailored the lead precisely to his acting strengths. Macy just looks like a typical Westlake hero-- only, as one of the other characters points out, he really can't be the hero if he's killed his girlfriend, even accidentally. And he's not really the hero, I guess, although you do sort of root for him. Macy plays Jerry Thorpe, a not-very-nice TV film critic, whose attempts to evade the consequences of committing an accidental murder get more and more involved as the plot thickens. It's an anti-Columbo, where we follow the criminal, not the cop, and wonder when and how he's going to blow it. Macy's stayed true to the book, adding a lot of character touches and a couple of nifty flourishes. He even includes a funny reference to one of his own previous pictures, "Searching for Bobby Fischer." I guess, for me, the fun was just watching Macy have so much fun in a leading role-- like Steve Buscemi, he's a terrific character actor who rarely gets the chance to carry a film. He carries this one, and I hope to see him carry more.