User Reviews

Even though it is an old movie, actually filmed in 1989, I simply love that movie... I love Bruce Greenwood in it... I love his charm, gorgeous looks, and the easy manner with which he acts out the story. He takes on these many, many impersonations, with many, many accents which he does SUPERBLY... He is a natural... It is hard to take your eyes off him to pay attention to the other actors... But you do notice Gregg Henry, his sidekick. The comraderie they have with each other in real life, adds to the realism of their friendship on screen...I recommend it hightly, if you can find it... maybe one day they will air it again...

I loved this film and would really like to find a copy of it. It had great lines in it about the "rules of journalism" - number one being "follow the money". The disguises and "tricks" Earle Brattigan (Bruce Greenwood) uses to get people to talk to him about his investigation are inventive and very amusing (but also a bit dangerous given the people he is dealing with). It was not the greatest film, but I found it very entertaining indeed! And, boy, is Bruce Greenwood easy on the eyes! His sidekick provides an amusing foil for his escapades, and the leading lady gives him enough disdain to make their eventual union full of sparks. I seem to recall an escape via a ski lift car careening wildly. All in all good made for TV effort. I think it was a pilot that didn't get picked up. It surely would be welcomed in today's TV wasteland!

Earl Brattigan wins back his job with The Post Ledger but finds himself stuff writing a column reviewing yesterday's rejected stories. However on his first day back he come across the story of an electrician killed by electrocution from his own wind farm. When he looks into it he uncovers a conspiracy to develop the land involving mobsters, Asian businessmen and senators.

This plays like a low-rent version of Fletch, with Greenwood playing the wise cracking reporter - scheming his way into stories. The whole film is narrated by his colleague Wilson, who provides a wry but rather hackneyed voiceover. However this makes you realise how good Fletch was - Chevy Chase was better as the reporter and it was actually funny. This is quite stale; Greenwood doesn't have the charisma of Chevy Chase, nor does the script have the humour of Fletch. This is not to say Fletch was a classic but it is miles better than this.

This is poorly plotted and is without any real sense of fun. Brattigan wants to be a wise cracking journalist getting the big stories by sneaky funny methods, unfortunately he just comes across a irritating, even bland. Bruce Greenwood doesn't have what it takes to carry off this role. The other actors also lack the ability to bring any spark to this - Wilson (Gregg Henry) is an unbelievable frat-boy sidekick, Hoffman is a boring love interest while the others are stereotypes - shifty Asian businessmen, Italian mobsters etc. The only interesting actor is the appearance of James Cromwell as the newspaper's owner - he has since gone on to much better things including Babe, Clear & Present Danger and LA Confidential.

A bland piece of film making that lacks spark, wit or excitement, this type of thing can be funny (watch Fletch) but without any of these qualities this is a waste of time.