Cat Chaser (VHS, 1991)

Crime novelist Elmore Leonard cowrote the script for CAT CHASER (based on his book) and Abel Ferrara (BAD LIEUTENANT) directed, filling the screen with his usual eye-popping doses of nudity and violence. Peter Weller stars Miami hotel owner and former U.S. paratrooper George Moran, who finds trouble when gets mixed up with the wife (Kelly McGillis) of a deposed general of the Dominican Republic (Tomas Milian) where Moran fought during the U.S. invasion. Charles Durning costars as Jiggs, a grinning, ruthless ex-cop who has a scheme to relieve the general of his wealth. Of course, the plot only thickens from there. A relaxed chemistry between Weller and McGillis helps make this sexy thriller work, and Durning is typically sensational as the "friendly" thug at the center of all the trouble. Chick Corea did the smoldering jazz soundtrack, and Frederic Forrest appears as a drunken soldier buddy of Moran's. Fans of Leonard's fiction, and films like GET SHORTY, OUT OF SIGHT, and JACKIE BROWN should enjoy CAT CHASER's mix of funny dialogue, lush tropical scenery, laid-back characters, and intricate crime plotting.