Five very good actors are trapped inside a very bad movie with Lee Drysdale’s Leather Jackets. Tritely written and with careless, messy direction, Leather Jackets does none of its cast any favors, and it’s likely missing from many of their current resumes for good reason. No one emerges from this lackluster drama with much dignity intact despite the actors all seeming to give it their best effort, more than the material itself deserves.
Leather Jackets (MGM MOD)
Directed by Lee Drysdale
Studio: MGM/UA
Year: 1991
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 91 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo English
Subtitles: none
MSRP: $19.98
Release Date: available now
Review Date: February 23, 2012
The Film
2/5
Dobbs (Cary Elwes) and his gang members take out a Vietnamese bag man and make off with a large amount of cash. However, the mob led by Tron (Craig Ng) immediately comes after Dobbs and his crew who are holed up at Fat Jack’s (Jon Polito) bar sponsoring a bachelor party for former gang member Mickey (D.B. Sweeney) who this day has gotten engaged to Claudi (Bridget Fonda), the girl of his dreams. The couple is ready to elope to Las Vegas, but when the Vietnamese lay siege to the bar, Dobbs and bartender Big Steve (Christopher Penn) manage to escape and hitch a ride with Mickey out of town where on the road Mickey learns some truths about his bride-to-be that he might not have wanted to know.
The writer-director’s views of women throughout the film border on misogyny with its accepted double standards of men and women who sleep around as male studs and female whores, and even Claudi’s recountings of her feelings for Dobbs as something genuine and loving don’t change the fact that the women in the movie seem to be looked down on completely as bimbos and opportunists. Elsewhere, there is plenty of raunch at the bachelor party, and the violence is pretty visceral but done totally without style. The story is faintly ludicrous as characters change attitudes willy-nilly and the Vietnamese crew seem oddly psychic to be able to find their prey so quickly and easily. But writer-director Lee Drysdale’s main problem is with blocking and shooting scenes. There is action that’s missed due to faulty camera placement, and the entire enterprise seems rather amateurishly produced.
The five most well known actors in the cast all do what they can with the lackluster, stale material, but it doesn’t amount to much. Cary Elwes has the showiest role as the quirky Dobbs, the good looking but insensitive leader of the leather jacketed pack, but his British accent slips in from time to time suggesting a dialogue coach might have been a good idea for the actor. D.B. Sweeney (before he put on all that muscle he now sports for his on-screen roles) has some effective moments as the doe-eyed construction worker fatally in love. Bridget Fonda does do very well in that one monologue expressing her initial feelings for Dobbs before he turned jerk, but otherwise, she is the worst victim of the pedestrian writing and ineffectual direction. Christopher Penn is as solid as his one-note character allows him to be while Jon Polito makes the most of his rough bar owner who’s had it with the young punks who think they’re tough.
Video Quality
4/5
The film is presented at its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. Despite some dirt specks that pop up from time to time, the image quality is surprisingly effective and reasonably impressive. Color is well delivered (the climactic sunrise shot is very nice looking), and flesh tones are natural throughout. Sharpness is very good, expert enough to see clearly the make-up on Bridget Fonda in her early morning scenes. Black levels are quite deep making for striking shadow detail. The film has been divided into chapters every ten minutes so there are 10 chapters in all.
Audio Quality
3.5/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound mix is acceptably free from hiss and other age-related artifacts. Some of the less experienced actors tend to mumble which makes understanding what they’re saying especially hard, and the synthesized music score sometimes sounds overly harsh. But when the Vietnamese invade the bar and start blowing people away, the gunshots land with impressive resonance, something missing from other dramatic passages of the movie, however.
Special Features
1/5
The theatrical trailer is presented in its native 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions.
In Conclusion
2/5 (not an average)
The cast is the thing in Leather Jackets. Seeing some actors earlier in their careers makes for interesting viewing even if the material they’re given to act isn’t really worthy of their gifts.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
