Go ahead. Hate the media. They don’t care.
Bobby DeNiro’s latest celluloid vehicle, "15 Minutes" says one main thing. When you get your fifteen minutes of fame you may be sorry you got it. As a matter of fact, it could kill you.
DeNiro plays Eddie Flemming, a popular, dynamic New York detective whose good work has been magnified enough by the media, particularly the tabloid television "Top Story", to make him a Hercules of law enforcement in his city.
Eddie has a reputation for getting his man by hook or crook. When he does, a sleazy television newsman, Robert Hawkins, makes sure that he is on the scene to build up Eddie, the hero he has created.
Eddie thrives on it. He forgets that celebrities stand out and are often sought out by demented individuals tempted to gain their fifteen minutes of fame through the media. Got the picture?
Enter Jordy Warsaw, played very well by Edward Burns. Jordy comes on like a wannabe detective looking for his own fifteen minutes. He and Eddie cross paths on a homicide investigation because arson was involved in a double murder and Jordy is the arson investigator of the hour. He’s also very good at his job.
At first, Jordy is a thorn in Eddie’s side, an unnecessary wart on Eddie’s investigative nose, but chemistry wins out and the two start to hit it off in fine fashion, almost like a father-son happening.
Too bad. It can’t last because the suspects, two of the most freaked-out characters you have ever met (forget "Pulp Fiction" and forget "Natural Born Killers") decide to go for their fifteen minutes of fame in a spectacular, disgusting way. They orchestrate a sadistic murder, video tape it and seek a high bidder to buy it and broadcast it.
Want to guess the identity of the willing "Patsy"—to the tune of $1 million? Did you say Robert Hawkins of "Top Story". You’re right! "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" may be looking for you.
These two Euro-thugs will get their fifteen minutes, plead insanity, hide the money, shake "insanity" during their stint in the asylum and live to spend their money on the outside.
Beautiful? Yes, but never underestimate the ability of a ticked off arson investigator. Jordy becomes the monkey wrench in this action-packed, fast-moving, downright kooky statement about sleazy sensationalism in the media.
The camera work will make you dizzy. The filtered, computer-fuzzied images will make you squint. Some of the anticipated ugly imagery may even make you cover your eyes as it did me, but try to remember that it’s only a movie. This might have been an NC-17 (does that rating still exist?) for all the ugliness, meanness and violence.
There is a great chase scene. There is some humor (not enough) to break up the tension and an exquisite mirror scene by DeNiro that is worth the price of admission. It has the thrill of the hunt in a society where, as one of the characters concludes, "no one is responsible for what they do anymore."
If you just can’t live without a DeNiro fix, go ahead and go. Go ahead and hate the media. They’ll love you for it. Let your kids go, but not until they’re thirty-five—maybe
My News Links