”Slam Dance” (Tom Hulce, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Virginia Masden, Harry Dean Stanton; Wayne Wang, dir. Key Video, 1987; color. Running time: 99 minutes. Rating: R. $79.98)
Lost amid the more than 250 new films that opened in Chicago last year
(that`s almost five new movies every week) were a few handsome efforts that, because of misfired timing, bad promotion or the wrong moon phase, failed to connect with their audiences.
Thank the stars for video, then, that we get a second crack at the unfortunately titled ”Slam Dance,” a truly stylish thriller that has nothing to do with ”Dirty Dancing,” or any other kind of ballroom activity for that matter.
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Tom (”Amadeus”) Hulce stars as the charming and irresponsible newspaper cartoonist Charles Drood, who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a seductive, troubled woman (Virginia Masden) who, we later learn, was luring him away from his pretty wife, Chicago`s Mary Elizabeth (”The Color of Money”) Mastrantonio. Not only are the police keeping tabs on him, but the dumbfounded Drood also is knocked about and kidnapped by a violently mysterious enforcer.
As the story twists and grows dark, and sometimes sexy and brutal, we bump up against fine performances in straight roles by rockers Adam Ant, as a morally ambivalent club owner, and John Doe, as the twitchy mystery man. The ubiquitous Harry Dean Stanton underplays, to great effect, the retiring police detective on the murderer`s trail.
Good as they are, the real star here is director Wayne Wang, whose crisp sense of drive never slackens and whose tactile, often beautiful shots amplify but never intrude. It`s finely crafted, contained moviemaking that translates satisfyingly well to video.