Load of rubbish!!

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

This has to be one of the funniest movies not billed as a comedy.Kevin Kline and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are just superb and absolutely shine and Alan Rickman almost steals the movie. He really does steal every scene he is in. Danny Aiello must also get a mention for a great performance. Very underrated and under appreciated movie.

John Patrick Shanley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of 1987's "Moonstruck", most likely wrote "The January Man" earlier in his career; it shows the strain of a novice author finding his footing, discovering what tone works for him and what quirky attributes can do for a character-filled scenario. When New York City is gripped by a serial killer who preys upon single women, the mayor demands the police commissioner rehire his brother, a former police detective-turned-firefighter, as a special investigator on the case (seems the brother once had a thing for the commissioner's wife, which led to a falling out). Kevin Kline shuffles about trying to locate his character; his New York accent doesn't work (and is frequently abandoned altogether), though his rumpled attire, thick crop of hair and dapper mustache have him looking more like Mandy Patinkin than ever. Kline doesn't convince as a relative to Harvey Keitel, but there are some good things in Shanley's script, and Kline picks up on them. The movie takes at least 45 minutes to get cracking; until then, there are far too many hotheaded characters on-screen, all shouting angrily at each other. In these instances Shanley seems to be relying on clichés picked up from old movies, although his second act improves tremendously. Kline is aided deftly by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (never better) and Alan Rickman (as a fey artist who paints nude women!). "The January Man" isn't an important picture, nor is it exceptional, but the final results are a little bit daft and often engaging. **1/2 from ****

It's New Year's Eve in NYC. Manhattan socialite Alison Hawkins is killed by a serial killer in her apartment as his 11th victim. Her best friend Bernadette Flynn (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) just dropped her off and just happens to be the mayor's daughter. Police commissioner Frank Starkey (Harvey Keitel) is under heavy pressure and Mayor Flynn (Rod Steiger) forces him to get his brother Nick Starkey (Kevin Kline). Nick was expelled from the force in disgraced two years ago and is now a hero firefighter. Frank's wife Christine (Susan Sarandon) is Nick's ex-girlfriend. Capt. Vincent Alcoa (Danny Aiello) hates the idea. Ed (Alan Rickman) is Nick's wacky artistic neighbor.The tone is all over the place. I wonder if the movie realizes that it's trying to make funny jokes in the middle of a serial killer movie. The problem is that the jokes are so wildly uncontrolled that it wouldn't be funny anyways. Everybody seems to be in their own separate movies. Aiello and Steiger are screaming. Kline and Rickman are wacky. Kline and Sarandon are doing a weird melodrama. Keitel is simply trying to survive the mess. Mastrantonio is in a different movie aka the serious serial killer movie and she's no 23. The switches in tone gave me whiplash. The final chase is way too wacky. The killer is doing blackface with white shinny gloves. They turn it into a farce and any chance the movie had goes away.

Two years ago, a scandal forced Nick Starkey (Kevin Kline) off the NYPD, but now the mayor wants him back to find a serial killer.This is a terrible movie with a ridiculous script. It's a serious drama until the last ten minutes when it becomes low comedy complete with pratfalls and jokes. Kline phones in his performance; he's never convincing as the returning cop who's expected to solve a case that the entire police force couldn't crack in a year. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays his supposed love interest but she's annoying and there's absolutely no chemistry between them. (On the plus side, she did marry the director.) Susan Sarandon bombs as a seductress and Alan Rickman looks like Maynard G. Krebs while Rod Steiger and Danny Aiello ham it up so much it's embarrassing. Harvey Keitel just wanders around looking lost the whole time. What a colossal waste of talent.There is no suspense or romantic tension and certainly no hint of real police work, just a lot of good actors looking foolish in a bad movie. What a disappointment.