The Melissa Zone

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Backflash.(new home video)(Brief Article)

Author/s: Laura Tiffany Issue: May 19, 2002

Prebook 6/4/02; Street 7/16/02
Buena Vista, Thriller, Price NA VHS, $29.99 DVD, 'R,' 90 min.
Stars Jennifer Esposito, Robert Patrick, Melissa Joan Hart.

Backflash opens with a familiar vista: a long road stretching out through the desert, desolate clusters of boulders accompanied only by wind and dirt. Lots of dirt. So when the main characters of the film are introduced, it's no surprise they aren't clean characters.

Ray (Patrick) is a boring man who runs a video store that looks like it hasn't seen a customer in three years. He comes across hitchhiking Harley (Esposito), a newly released convict. She's embroiled with local Mafioso-types in a never-quite-clear scheme that involves running money hidden in corpses. Ray can't pass by such a pretty girl and he picks her up. He's soon tangled up in her scheme -- she needs a warm body to pretend to be her husband so she can get at a safe deposit box -- but it soon becomes clear you don't really know who's scamming who.

Of course in films like these, nothing is as it seems. Double- and triple-crossing are just part of the game. But luckily for the audience, this film also isn't quite what it seems. On a cursory glance, it appears to be a derivative heist film with 'B'-list stars. But director Phillip T. Jones has a light touch; he keeps the plot simple and the pace quick. With surprising and darkly funny turns from Patrick, Hart and Colm Meany, and a strong, sexy performance by Esposito, Backflash is a quick, amusing ride. It doesn't surpass its genre boundaries, but it still entertains and delivers a genuinely surprising ending.

SELLING POINTS: The familiar faces of Backflash's cast will make it stand out from similar con-game films.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Advanstar Communications, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group