Mary Moore in Murder at 1600 (1997)

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Despite the 0% critical approval, I enjoyed this movie, and recommend it with one proviso. You have to suspend your disbelief completely, and I mean completely. The film is not meant to be a realistic portrayal of upper level political and criminal intrigue in the halls of the White House. It is pure escapist fare. Example: at one point, the President says "arrest him", and the Secret Service puts Snipes in handcuffs. The president says "no, not him, him", indicating the national security advisor. Yeah, right.

In reality, the secret service could not put a lid on the homicide investigation of the President's son as they did in this movie. The D.C. police couldn't do much about the Feds' muscle, but they would only need to make two phone calls to get complete co-operation from them: (1) USA Today (2) CNN. In fact, they wouldn't even have to make those phone calls, only to threaten to.

Of course, the White House can not afford to have a policeman go on Larry King and say "the president's son is the #1 suspect in a murder investigation, but the secret service is blocking the investigation". The press would go on a feeding frenzy, and the president's approval polls would drop until his only support came from his immediate family and a few paid political apologists. The correct political strategy would be to co-operate fully in return for complete discretion and a press blackout. If a president does eventually find out that his son is a murderer, and turns him over to the police voluntarily, his approval rating would go up, not down. We Americans are so unused to any signs of integrity from our politicians that we lionize even the most routine acts of simple honesty.

The details of the plot are formulaic Hollywood bull stuff. We find out that the Secret Service agent assigned to Snipes is an Olympic Gold Medal sharpshooter. We find out that Snipes is an expert in the architectural history of Washington. We find out that Snipes' apartment building will be torn down to make a parking lot for a federal agency. All of these details are necessary for the contrived plot. As soon as you hear each of these facts revealed in the plot exposition, you can predict their future role in the film.

I do agree with Junior, however, that the film is much better than the critics would have you believe. The preposterous story did keep me glued to the set, even though I knew better, and the characterizations from Snipes and the underused Dennis Miller were entertaining.

Hell, what more do you need from escapist fare?

Nudity Report: Little known actress Mary Moore is seen topless in a dark love scene as the title credits roll, and then again on a slab in the morgue.

Critics Vote: General consensus: two and a half stars. Ebert 2.5/4. Berardinelli 2/4.

IMDB Summary: IMDb voters score it 5.9/10.

Box Office: It grossed $25 million, disappointing for a 2100 screen rollout.

DVD Info: Full-screen format and an anamorphic (1.85) widescreen version.


Written by: Scoopy …courtesy of Scoopy.net