BOILING POINT

Though Boiling Point features solid performances by all involved, the movie still lacks a pulse.

You know when you're flipping channels and you stumble upon a movie that's half over? As you're watching, it's easy enough to piece together who's who and what's going on, but you're always missing a certain sense of continuity. Even though I watched Boiling Point from the very beginning, I never shook the feeling that I'd walked in late, and despite its edgy title, the movie never does more than simmer.

As the film opens, we meet Red and Ronnie (real life pals, Dennis Hopper and Viggo Mortensen), two con artists freshly released from prison and already working on a new scam. We also meet detective Jimmy Mercer (Wesley Snipes), and though it's obvious that he's trailing Red and Ronnie, there is no tension in the pursuit. After a few scenes, I lazily thought, "Oh, I guess he's after those guys." The rest of the movie plays out similarly. It's just there.

As Red and Ronnie reestablish their criminal careers, they also struggle to reclaim their personal lives. Red makes a genuine effort to reconcile with his wife (Valerie Perrine), but Ronnie pretty much just shows up at his girlfriend's house and slaps her in the face. Weirdly, it's Red's wife who tells him she's had enough, while Ronnie's girlfriend (Christine Elise) takes him right back. Huh. I guess we're all powerless to resist Viggo, whether he belts us across the mouth or not.

Meanwhile, Jimmy is having problems of his own. He visits his ex-wife and son, wishing he could have his old life back, but finds it's no longer there to be had: his wife has moved on to someone new. Disappointed, Jimmy turns to his friend/informant, a call-girl named Vikki Dunbar (Lolita Davidovich). Conveniently, Red has also been seeking solace in Vikki's arms, so she can give Jimmy all the inside info.

Also supplying inside information is Virgil Leach (Seymour Cassel), who happily sends the detectives to interrogate his girlfriend. She refuses to talk on the grounds that Virgil is the first man who ever showed her any respect, and the detectives cannily press "play" on their taped interview with Virgil. He shows his respect with this winning line: "She's a dumb junkie bitch. A friend of mine gave her to me." This is pretty much the first spark of character in the entire film. Needless to say, Girlfriend's loyalties end right there.

The only other excitement occurs when Ronnie goes to make a deal with Paul Gleason (sorry, the character really has no name), but instead, he kicks him, steals his money, shoots him, then goes whumping over him with his car. Hoo boy, that Ronnie is one bad guy. Though Viggo is young, shiny, and handsome in this movie, he doesn't get much screen time, and being the soft-spoken bloke he is, it's often difficult to hear him. I might as well tell you that he gets shot full of holes at the end. Sigh.

Though Boiling Point features solid performances by all involved, the movie still lacks a pulse. Dennis Hopper is especially endearing and vulnerable as Red, and Perrine is surprisingly touching as his wounded wife. Snipes and Davidovich hold their own, and you'll never catch me complaining about Viggo. Unfortunately, it's never really clear who or what is important in this film, and by the time you realize it's all about Red and his tragic inability to change his ways, the movie is over. If only there were a way to turn up the heat on this one, it might have had a chance.