Still, they are viewed by many humans as a race to distrust and even fear. Treated as slaves on their planet, the Newcomers have embraced their new freedoms. Labeled Newcomers, the aliens are humanoid in appearance and have been partially assimilated into American society. In 1991, Los Angeles is the home to 300,000 aliens who arrived three years earlier when their spaceship crashed on Earth. My recommendation is that you overlook its faults and watch Best Seller to see Woods at his best.Īlien Nation (1988). There are too many gaps in logic, such as when Meecham-whose life has been threatened-leaves his teenage daughter home alone. Best Seller belongs to Woods and his compelling, creepy character. Brian Dennehy provides an effective foil, but his role is less showy. Like the audience, Meechum eventually becomes intrigued with the engaging killer-but he's smart enough to never fully trust his new ally.Ĭoming off a Best Actor nomination for Salvador (1986), James Woods pulls in the audience with his riveting portrayal of Cleve. The strength of Cohen's script is that it dupes into believing that Cleve may not be so bad, then shows him performing a cold-blooded, needless murder. Instead, Larry Cohen's screenplay explores the rocky "friendship" between a smooth, charming, vicious killer and an honest cop struggling to be a single parent. Granted, there are the requisite action scenes and a climax filled with multiple corpses, but that's not the focus.
Made in 1987, Best Seller is mostly a study of the relationship between Cleve and Meechum. Gradually, Cleve persuades Meechum that his tale is true it "helps" that suddenly both men become the targets of murder attempts.
A police detective who once authored a non-fiction bestseller, Meechum (Brian Dennehy) is skeptical at first.
To gain revenge, Cleve (James Woods) approaches Dennis Meechum to write an exposé about the corrupt businessman who used Cleve's services.
Duck soup marx brothers garden party professional#
Cleve is a professional killer who feels he never got the respect he deserved from his ex-employer, a powerful corporate executive.