The Glimmer Man (1996)

Two cops are forced to work together to solve a chain of mysterious killings by a killer nicknamed "The Family Man".

Director:

John Gray

Writer:

Kevin Brodbin

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bob Gunton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Lt. Jack Cole
Keenen Ivory Wayans	...	Det. Jim Campbell
Bob Gunton	...	Frank Deverell
Brian Cox	...	Mr. Smith
John M. Jackson	...	Donald Cunningham
Michelle Johnson	...	Jessica Cole
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Christopher Maynard
Peter Jason	...	Millie's Father
Ryan Cutrona	...	Capt. Harris
Richard Gant	...	Det. Roden
Johnny Strong	...	Johnny Deverell
Robert Mailhouse	...	Smith's Bodyguard
Jesse Stock	...	Cole's Son
Alexa PenaVega	...	Cole's Daughter (as Alexa Vega)
Nikki Cox	...	Millie

Storyline

Jack Cole is a soft spoken, mystical, new age New York cop with a checkered past. He is transferred to Los Angeles to help Los Angeles cop Jim Campbell solve a series of brutal murders in which the victims are crucified. The murders that have happened since Jack arrived in Los Angeles just don't sit right with him. When the killer, known as the "Family Man", kills Ellen DunLeavy, who happens to be Jack's ex wife and the mother of his two kids, and Ellen's husband Andrew DunLeavy, it becomes personal - especially when Jack's prints are found on Ellen's body. Jack meets with his military mentor Smith, not knowing that Smith is in cahoots with local crime boss Frank Deverell.

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Plot Keywords:

ex soldier | serial killer | murder | partner | detective | 

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Taglines:

Two good cops. One bad situation.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Chinese Russian

Release Date:

4 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Glimmer Man

Filming Locations:

310 Loma Dr, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,605,504, 6 October 1996

Gross USA:

$20,351,264

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,351,264

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Seagal/Nasso Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Seagal championed Trevor Rabin as the composer of the film. Years earlier Rabin, an avid guitar enthusiast like Seagal, had coached and trained Seagal with his guitars.

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Goofs

Before the final confrontation between Jack, Jim and the bad guys, there's a glimpse of a hand pulling the red sofa backward when Frank, Donald and the rest of the gang are entering in the hotel room

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Quotes

Jack Cole: Do you speak Russian?
Jim Campbell: A little bit.
[Campbell starts banging the suspect's head to the trunk of the car]
Jim Campbell: Answer, god damn mother fucker! Or I'll beat the shit out of your dumb ass!
Jack Cole: You speak good Russian!
Jim Campbell: Yes, black Russian!

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Alternate Versions

Airings on cable station TBS include two additional scenes not seen in the theatrical version or on home video/DVD. The first scene has Campbell visiting Jessica Cole at work, where he informs her about Jack being suspended and a suspect in the Dunleavy murders. The second scene (which follows immediately afterward) has Jessica returning home and confronting Jack about the news he was suspended, and they have a brief argument. Both occur after the scene where Cole and Capt. Harris talk in the bathroom following the polygraph questioning.

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Connections

References Sesame Street (1969)

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Soundtracks

Bulletproof
Written by Steven Seagal and Todd Smallwood
Performed by The Jeff Healey Band
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording

User Reviews

Seagal's descent began here

It was here the trend of Seagal starring in more economically budgeted movies with drab scripts that seriously lacked action. (And that were never screened for the critics!) Though the fight sequences here aren't has badly done as in his subsequent movies (the editing is less frenzic), they are few and far between. As a result, action fans will really be bored, especially since the story is so drab, despite it involving a serial killer who's especially sadistic. New twists to the story only occasionally come, and they are usually so murky that eventually the viewers will be confused as to who is doing what (and why.)

Seagal and Wayans never quite generate the necessary chemistry, despite the fact that their characters are opposed in their views and practices. Although they occasionally have some mildly amusing dialogue, the level of dialogue is generally bad, sometimes mind-bogglingly so.

It's easy to see why this didn't do much at the box office, and why Seagal increasingly became frustrated with Warner Brothers, eventually leaving them. (Though he returned for EXIT WOUNDS for some reason.) Seagal needs to not only stop playing the same basic character in each of his movies, but stop choosing scripts that recycle the same basic elements we see in almost every one of his movies. If he does that, there is a possibility he could remove the stigma of being a glorified "B" movie actor.