William Foster just wants to go home and see his daughter on her birthday but he's stuck in a traffic jam, in a car with no air-con, and the walls are closing in on him. He's had enough. He gets out of his car and, ignoring the calls of the other drivers, he starts to walk. Farther down the road, also stuck in his car, is Sergeant Prendergast, a cop on his last day at work before retirement. As his day goes on he meets a Korean shopkeeper who's been assaulted, attends a drive-by shooting gone wrong, an armed robbery at a burger bar and a dead fascist in an army surplus store and as he goes along everyone tells him about a man in a shirt and tie who just wants to go home and see his daughter.
Although The Lost Boys and Flatliners are very good this is my favourite of Joel Schumacher's films. The heat and claustrophobia of the opening scene, the intensity of Michael Douglas' performance (he and I think it's his best) and the foil of Robert Duvall's soft hearted cop really draw the audience in. At times you'll find yourself rooting for Foster, his rants in the shops and on the golf course are easy to go with, but the underlying menace and the hints at his past madness are always there. The cut's very well done and the whole production feels very tight. Well timed and well written by actor Ebbe Roe Smith, the script was turned down by every studio until Dougles got on board and got the money from a mix of Alcor, Regency and Canal +.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106856/?ref_=ttco_co_tt
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