Dreadfully Boring

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Absolutely brilliant

A Disappointing Continuation

"Animal House" stars Tim Matheson (also the voice of Jonny Quest) and Donald Sutherland. Matheson is a workaholic architect whose partner's decision to bribe a city official to get a contract explodes in his face. Sutherland plays the sleazy private detective hired by Matheson's wife to trail him and instead witnesses a crooked vice cop's attempt to shake the architect down. He decides to take advantage of the situation and frames Matheson for the murder of the vice cop--but holds onto all the incriminating evidence so he can blackmail the innocent architect into either paying him $100,000 or performing a hit for him. The film as a whole is just okay, but I always like Matheson in movies, and here is no exception. You kind of wish he could cut lose and play a little comedy, but this is just not that kind of movie. Sutherland steals the show as the bad guy and has one great moment where it sounds like he's promoting his son's show, saying: "24, 24, 24!" years before the show came on the air.

This film, produced for cable television, benefits from strong performances by its featured players, in particular Donald Sutherland, but too many of its scenes are unconvincing in their detail, with sequences depicting law enforcement procedures being a particular drawback, and reliance upon intricate and coincidence filled melodrama within the screenplay eventually sinks the work. When architect Scott Reinhardt (Tim Matheson) discovers from his business partner that the latter has bribed a public official with company funds in order to gain a lucrative contract for their young firm, honourable Reinhardt vigorously protests to no avail, soon finding his life reshaped with fearful uncertainties following the bountiful but illicit award. He is approached by a corrupt vice unit officer who is obviously familiar with the circumstances pertinent to the bribe, and when the vice copper is murdered, Scott is considered a suspect at the same time that he is being bedevilled with a former policeman and partner of the slain officer, and currently a private investigator, "Doc" (Sutherland), whose aim is blackmail. As Reinhardt has no luck in eluding Doc, his increasingly cheerless existence becomes laden with new struggles involving a troubled marriage, financial problems, and his freshly tainted vocation, and it is apparent that only great determination may lead Scott to an escape from his collection of plights. The film belongs to Sutherland who governs the action until the inconclusive ending by utilization of his expansive performing skills to create a hateful character with whom one is never less than fascinated, even garnering sympathy. The piece is ably directed by Michael Pressman and shot very well indeed; although the script betrays the work, as its various elements fail to merge into a believable storyline, in spite of honest efforts by all of the players, it is nonetheless enjoyable viewing due to better than average production qualities, and the playing of Sutherland, generally undervalued Matheson, and Felicity Huffman for her vivid reading as Reinhardt's baffled wife.