Jennifer 8

Starring: Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, Lance Henriksen, Graham Beckel, Kathy Baker, Kevin Conway, John Malkovich, Perry Lang, Michael O'Neill, Bob Gunton
Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery
1992

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A cop (Andy Garcia) faces skepticism from his unit when he develops a theory about a serial killer. A blind woman (Uma Thurman) is the only one who may have a lead to help him find the killer.

Review:

Tim: I wanted to like Jennifer 8 more. I was in the mood for a serial killer thriller and this is a film I'd never got around to seeing. It featured a strong cast and a competent director. Unfortunately, the end product is far too formulaic and forgettable. The movie is a bit dull and does nothing particularly exciting. This is a generic film that I started to forget before I finished it.

Now, while I was disappointed in it, it wasn't a terrible movie. It was just like dozens and dozens of similar movies. You have a cop seemingly obsessed with a case, believing murders are connected and done by a serial killer. The other cops around him don't believe the theory and think he's increasingly erratic as he descends into his obsession. The killer is someone we've already met in the cast and the cop is proved correct in the end. That describes dozens of movies, including this one. It's far, far too generic for its own good.

The cast is good, but they were given underwhelming characters. Andy Garcia adds a good lead performance, but his character is bland. He's a big city cop in a smaller town and he's obsessed with tracking a killer. He falls for an eyewitness (sort of). The most interesting thing about him is he's given up drinking (mostly). I couldn't even tell you his name, as I've already forgotten it. Lance Henriksen gives a good supporting performance as Garcia's best friend. He was one of the better aspects of the film. Uma Thurman was fine, but the blind-girl-who-witnesses-a-crime thing has been done before. she was okay, but nothing special. I loved seeing John Malkovich here, but he has far too little to do. The rest of the cast was fine, but with almost no standouts. I just didn't love any of the characters and never felt any kind of attachment to them. They were throwaway characters. Their underdevelopment really hurt the movie.

Jennifer 8 does feature some good sequences. I thought the scenes at the dump were effective. The Christmas evening stakeout scene was one of the better ones of the film. Although, they tried to point in one direction with that scene when it was completely obvious it was a misdirection. By the end of the film, the climax had almost no impact because I didn't feel any emotional connection, so just kind of shrugged at it all.

Jennifer 8 has some nice elements to it, but in the end, is far too predictable. The cast is good, but they aren't given much to work with. This movie might not be terrible, but it's a long way from good. You can find significantly better films in the same genre as this one. I'd suggest watching one of those instead.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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