Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Spikeopath Best Seller is directed by John Flynn and written by Larry Cohen. It stars James Woods, Brian Dennehy and Victoria Tennant. Music is by Jay Ferguson and cinematography by Fred Murphy. Cop Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) survives being shot during a robbery at the police evidence storage and writes a well received book about the events. Years later he's widowed, raising his daughter on his own and suffering from writers block as he tries to write another novel. Into his life comes Cleve (Woods), a mysterious man who saves Meechum's life and announces that he is a paid assassin and wishes Meechum to write a book about his work for a top name in industry......Only in America Dennis.It's a lovely hook is this, a cop and a killer paired together, their relationship explored via an uneasy buddy buddy formula, where the fruits of their partnership will bring very differing rewards. Along with the crackerjack turns from Dennehy (lovable burn-out) and Woods (cold-blooded calm), it's the smart screenplay from Cohen that makes Best Seller worthy of a rental at least. How it is going to pan out always keeps one interested in the tale, while there's clearly some snarky observations on America's lust for capital gain. Violence flits in and out to add some bloody pulp to proceedings, but ultimately it's the dialogue, the suspicious mood crafted by Flynn and characterisations that give the film its vitality.Released in the same year as Lethal Weapon, it appears that Best Seller got lost in the slip-stream of that higher octane fuelled picture (in fact Dennehy gets to say the same "too old for this" line that Glover trademarked in Lethal Weapon). It's not on a par with Donner's movie, and it's far from perfect; the ending is a bit tamer than we would perhaps like and Paul Shenar's villain is a standard suit job, but there's good craft here on the page and on both sides of the camera. 7/10

Scott LeBrun Writer Larry Cohen concocts this interesting, entertaining movie that mainly hinges on the often antagonistic relationship between two strong personalities. Brian Dennehy stars as Dennis Meechum, a cop who also writes books based on true crime stories, who is approached by Cleve (James Woods), a professional hit-man for an unscrupulous businessman, David Madlock (Paul Shenar). The hit-man feels inadequately compensated for his years of service, and is now an incredibly disgruntled ex-employee, enough to approach the cop / author to propose writing a book that reveals all the ugly details of the businessman's rise to the top. Capably directed by action specialist John Flynn ("Rolling Thunder", "Lock Up", "Out for Justice"), "Best Seller" tells a pretty good story in slick enough fashion, with some effective moments of very nasty violence. It also has very strong subtext about portraying a dark side to capitalism and corporations, as well as Cleve's own very dark version of The American Dream. It's well paced, with some potent scenes that establish what kind of man Cleve is. Yet, for a man who most of the time comes off as pure scum, he has definite intelligence and a real presence, and in the end does have a redemptive quality; it's the kind of role meant for an actor of Woods's abilities, and he plays it for all it's worth. But Dennehy is equally his match as the dedicated cop both disgusted with and intrigued by his new associate. Appealing Allison Balson plays Dennis's daughter, although supporting players Shenar and Victoria Tennant ultimately end up with not that much to do, and Shenar's character is not what you'd call subtle. Other fine players in the movie include George Coe, Anne Pitoniak, Mary Carver, Sully Boyar, Kathleen Lloyd, and Charles Tyner, with a too brief, uncredited appearance by Seymour Cassel as one of the bodyguards. Reasonably engrossing, with an ending that at least isn't 100% predictable, although some viewers may not find it terribly satisfying. But the interplay between two experienced and reliable movie stars makes it all worthwhile. Seven out of 10.

gridsleep This is like an old time cop movie, very well served. If this had been made in the 1940s, I could see it starring Humphrey Bogart as the cynical cop and Alan Ladd as the hit man trying to justify his life, with Adolph Menjou as the corrupt businessman. Minus the brief nudity, of course. That's about the only major change between movies then and now, at least movies of this ilk. It's a little corny, but it's tightly woven and well played. The story is standard, so it's the characters that have to carry it. Woods and Dennehy bring really rounded, deep characters to a shallow little cops and robbers story. I started to dislike Dennis for his disliking Cleve, then, when Cleve shows his true face, I disliked Cleve. Then, Cleve shows he is really capable of acts of kindness. And Dennis is capable of understanding and forgiveness. In the end, the bad guys get what's coming to them and the hero is revealed. What more could you want from a good old fashioned film noir, even with all that California sunshine and pastel wallpaper? The only thing that might have made this better is if it had been filmed in black and white.

gcd70 This thriller is a better than average action film. "Best Seller" tells the story of Cleve (James Woods), an ex-hit man who decides to do the dirty on his old boss by telling his story to cop/author Dennis Meechum (Brian Dennehy).John Flynn's film is not a great deal better than average though, and it is only the entertaining action sequences that are really worth the wait. Dennehy and Woods are enjoyable, but unfortunately one never believes that killer Cleve is ever really genuine about anything, which was something that both John Flynn and James Woods tried hard to convey. Predictable ending leaves audience a little flat. Okay viewing.Thursday, February 20, 1992 - Video