September 21, 1997 -- "Excess Baggage" is a clever little romantic comedy that benefits greatly from a tight screenplay and winning performances by the three lead actors.

This was my last choice for a movie to see this weekend because the previews for it didn't look promising. It turned out to be the best of the three, including the touted "She's So Lovely," along with the disappointing "In and Out." Only "The Game" gave as much entertainment.

I like Alicia Silverstone, the star of the film, having seen her in "Clueless" and "Batman and Robin," but the plot seemed stupid. Silverstone, who plays Emily Hope, a spoiled brat, stages her own kidnapping for attention and then falls in love with Vincent Roche (Benicio Del Toro) a guy who steals her car. Huh?

Believe it or not, the screenplay is written in such a way as to make this seem plausible. Silverstone and Del Toro have good chemistry, which helps. Christopher Walken is also effective in a slightly softer than usual portrayal of his usual mobster character, Raymond Perkins. Harry Connick Jr. ("Independence Day") is also good as Roche's weak-willed partner in crime.

The movie starts off quickly as Roche steals the car, not knowing that Hope has locked herself in the trunk. He decides to ditch Hope in the country, but then has to team with her again because she is the only person who can bail him out of jams with various hoodlums and the police, who are all after him because of some missing money. Much of their time is spent on the lam, but there is a minimum of car chases and gunfire, the usual Hollywood plot story substitutes. Instead, we have an actual character-driven plot. Not bad. It rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 1997 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.