Flinch (1994)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

George Erschbamer

Writers (WGA):

Neal H. Dobrofsky (written by) &
Tippi Dobrofsky (written by)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

Two live store window mannequins witness a murder late at night.

Plot Keywords:

Bathtub Scene | Squalid Apartment | Independent Film

Cast

Judd Nelson	...	Harry Mirapolsky
Gina Gershon	...	Daphne James
Nick Mancuso	...	Miles Raymond
Frank Cassini	...	Det. Bat Fowler
Marilyn Norry	...	Vivian Raymond
Veronica Lorenz	...	Jasmine Lee
Anne Dupont	...	Miss Gloria Marsh
Andrew Airlie	...	William
Lawrence King-Phillips	...	Charlie
Alvin Sanders	...	Wheeler
Suzy Joachim	...	Sales Clerk
Madison Graie	...	Model
Michelle Grana	...	Tow Truck Dr.
Ken Roberts	...	Security Guard
Frank C. Turner	...	Coroner

Runtime:

Netherlands:88 min | Canada:92 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:16 | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Gastown, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

FTM Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Set in the United States but there are various shots of Canadian National (CN) trains.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Daphne James: That is your eighth sneeze today.
Harry Mirapolsky: Yeah?
Daphne James: You can't sneeze, you're not allowed to move!
Harry Mirapolsky: Sorry.
Daphne James: Why don't you just quit and get it over with?
Harry Mirapolsky: And lose the pleasure of your company?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game-On: (#3.2)" (1998)

Soundtrack:

BE MINE TONIGHT

Thriller-cum-romcom is a curious mixture of originality, parody, and cliché

The main problem with `Flinch' is something which could, with just a little more intelligence and consistency, have been its main asset: it combines the two genres you thought could never get together. It's a romantic comedy in a thriller's cast-off clothing.

That combination, in itself, could have worked really well. The premise is at once tense and oddly amusing: Harry and Daphne, co-workers who seem to have nothing in common, fall for each other while getting fired, sharing a crummy apartment, and being stalked by a madman who wants them both dead.

But `Flinch' succumbs to the characteristic errors of each of its genres.

Like many romantic comedies - `My Best Friend's Wedding' is a distinguished sufferer - it is weakened by excessively broad humor (such as the superfluous parody of radio morning shows, or Harry and Daphne arguing without moving their lips) and by implausible coincidences (such as the one that puts the Maraschino cherry on an already happy ending).

And, like many thrillers, parts of it just seem recycled. Coincidence is a problem here, too - but then, our couple DOES have to be in the store window the one night a murder is committed in the street outside, or we don't have a movie. No, the tiredness runs deeper than that: `Flinch' does the same things as a host of other (not necessarily better) films, in the same order, with less conviction.

Even so, there is an air of self-awareness - and awareness of cliché - that, if it had been more pervasive, might have saved the production. In fact, one of the bright spots is seeing two talented actors, Frank Cassini and Nick Mancuso, stamp wit and personality on their generic characters (the peevish cop and the tortured villain, respectively). They both act with intelligence and realism - and Mancuso, at least, seems to be having a lot of fun.

If this movie is worth seeing, it is mostly for those two performances. The rest of the acting is by no means shabby (except for Anne Dupont as the bitchy supervisor; it's no wonder she was never in another picture). But the script is more interesting in theory; and, while there are both chills and laughs, there aren't enough of either.

The bottom line? `Flinch' certainly does move; sometimes it looks like it's headed somewhere, but it's really just jerking around.