The Chase (1994) 20th Century Fox/Action-Comedy RT: 88 minutes Rated PG-13 (violence, a scene of sensuality, some language) Director: Adam Rifkin Screenplay: Adam Rifkin Music: Richard Gibbs Cinematography: Alan Jones Release date: March 4, 1994 (US) Cast: Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, Henry Rollins, Josh Mostel, Ray Wise, Wayne Grace, Rocky Carroll, Bree Walker, Wirt Cain, Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Marshall Bell, Cary Elwes, Joe Sagal, Claudia Christian, Natalia Nogulich, Chamblee Ferguson, Miles Dougal, Cassian Elwes, David Harrod, Ron Jeremy. Box Office: $7.9M (US)
Rating: ***
Shall we talk about the ivory horse in the room and get it out of the way? There’s no way Adam Rifkin (The Dark Backward) could have predicted certain events that took place a little over three months after The Chase was released. I’m talking, of course, about the infamous OJ Simpson car chase on California’s I-405 on June 17, 1994. In a last ditch effort to avoid arrest for the murders of his wife and her lover, he attempted to flee in a White Bronco with approximately 20 police cars following in pursuit. It went on for nearly two hours. Multiple news helicopters filmed the whole thing from up high. It was on every channel. It was a media sensation. I remember thinking later about The Chase and how it prefigured the situation. Crazy, isn’t it?
Now let’s get down to the business at hand. The Chase is a 90s take on 70s car chase movies like Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry and the original Gone in 60 Seconds. It stars Charlie Sheen (No Man’s Land) as Jack Hammond, a wrongfully convicted bank robber who escapes from custody in a stolen car after he’s sentenced to 25 years. He runs into trouble with a couple of cops when he stops at a convenience store for a pack of smokes. When they make him, he hits the panic button and takes a young woman hostage using a Butterfinger as a fake gun. They flee in her car, a red BMW with a vanity plate. She turns out to be Natalie (Swanson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the spoiled daughter of millionaire industrialist Dalton Voss (Wise, RoboCop). Everybody assumes it’s an intentional kidnapping. Both the police and the media give chase as the pair attempts to make it to Mexico.
Like all mismatched couples thrown together by chance, Jack and Natalie don’t like each other much at first. She demands to be let out of the car. He refuses. She burns his neck with the cigarette lighter. He points his gun at her. You know, the usual stuff. Then they starting opening up to each other. He explains that his case is one of mistaken identity. She tells him how badly she wants to get away from her dysfunctional family. They ultimately fall for each other. Mind you, all of this happens while Jack is speeding down the freeway.
Outside their little vehicular microcosm, the police are in hot pursuit. In the lead car, Officers Dobbs (hardcore rocker Rollins) and Figus (Mostel, City Slickers) pontificate about their career and experiences in the field while a TV crew films them for a reality show. I suppose it’s a testament to their abilities that they can pontificate and pursue at the same time. The media jumps all over the situation with a traffic copter doing a live broadcast and reporters going to great lengths to get good footage. In one instance, a reporter hangs outside of a news van going 80 in an attempt to interview Natalie. Back at the police station, Voss barks orders and threats at the chief (Grace, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) if his daughter isn’t returned safely. He also berates his daughter (via her car phone) for embarrassing him yet again. He’s not what you call a loving father.
The Chase works on two levels. First, it’s an entertaining car chase flick with plenty of well-orchestrated stunts, crashes and explosions. One bit has a couple of wannabe vigilantes (Flea and Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers) in a green monster truck trying to catch Jack for the glory of being heroes. Rifkin keeps things moving at a fast pace. He also keeps it funny with scenes like the one with cadavers spilling out of an out-of-control truck onto the police cars. I could have done without the vomit scene though.
Second, The Chase is also a smart satire of modern media and their tendency to turn criminals into celebrities through sensationalism. When the story breaks, the TV news wastes no time enticing viewers with logos like “Terror on the Highway”. For them, it’s less about reporting the news than it is ratings. Then there’s Daddy. He’s more concerned with getting on all the big TV programs than his daughter’s welfare. You see, Rifkin even manages a few pot shots at the rich. The Chase is hardly what I’d call a dumb movie despite appearances to the contrary.
It’s likely his role in the two Hot Shots movies helped Sheen play the part of an unlucky, unintentional criminal in The Chase. All that happens to him, starting with being accused of robbing a bank disguised as a clown, is a comedy of errors. He could have easily played it for laughs, but chooses to play it straight instead. That, my friends, is the key to an effective comic performance. I’ve always found Swanson charming; she’s nothing less in The Chase. Granted, her character is a little annoying in early scenes, but it gives way to charm fairly quickly. Their characters’ budding romance works primarily because the two leads share great chemistry. Their strong chemistry is partly why their behind-the-wheel sex scene doesn’t come off as completely ridiculous (the other part is the movie’s non-serious tone). Wise is perfectly cast as the mean, unpleasant rich jerk.
I suppose the highest praise I can offer up is that The Chase delivers exactly what its title promises. It’s one big chase scene. Sure, it goes a little deeper than the average action-comedy, but it never overextends itself. It’s fun, what more could want from a chase?
