Ariella Broughton
It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Caryl
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
jpodonoghue
This is way above similar crime-dramas made in the 80's. Kurt Russell gives his usual stellar leading man performance, this time as a Newspaper crime reporter. All the actors give a good account of themselves and it's great to see Andy Garcia and Joe Pantoliano in their earlier roles. The movie was made in the real locations of the Miami Herald, the Miami Police Station and the Florida Everglades. An all-round decent mid-80's crime drama well worth watching.
Scott LeBrun
Based on the John Katzenbach story "In the Heat of the Summer", this Florida-lensed crime thriller does hold ones' attention with its straightforward telling of an interesting tale. Kurt Russell is aces as Malcolm Anderson, a star reporter for the Miami Journal who is contacted by a murderous psychopath (Richard Jordan) who has killed once and who promises that there will be other murders. The killer, who craves the spotlight, decides to use Anderson as his mouthpiece, creating a very uneasy "collaboration" between killer and reporter. Things start to really turn South when Anderson starts getting the bulk of the attention, leaving the killer feeling resentful. This is a solid set-up for a movie that ultimately does indeed lose a fair deal of its impact by turning conventional for its final act, but until then it's solidly entertaining, with the performances of Russell and Jordan serving as effective anchors. The give and take between their two characters is compelling stuff, and it's a good thing that Anderson isn't treated as some typically infallible movie hero. The supporting cast is mostly strong; Mariel Hemingway as Anderson's schoolteacher girlfriend Christine is appealing as she always is, but her character has little to do besides look and act concerned and eventually be put into peril. Richard Masur (reunited, along with producers Lawrence Turman and David Foster, with Russell after "The Thing") is Anderson's editor, Andy Garcia (in one of his earliest movie roles) and Richard Bradford are the weary detectives on the case, Joe Pantoliano is a photographer, and the almighty movie tough guy William Smith appears briefly as a character supplying critical information. The Miami setting adds a lot of ambiance, especially as the storms start coming up towards the end of the story. Lalo Schifrin's music is also highly effective. Even in light of the clichéd climactic confrontation, there is some enjoyable resonance to "The Mean Season" as it deals with the big issue of journalistic culpability, and the role that the media play in our receipt of the news. An overall grim feel to the presentation, and an atmospheric opening, are also assets in this generally good, if not great, and reasonably convincing movie. Seven out of 10.
lathe-of-heaven
I fully agree with 'Cabbleaddict' all right... Maybe not QUITE as bad as all that, but definitely NOT a keeper by any means. And YES, I also agree that likely the main culprit here was the director (thus like CA said, not surprisingly the guy did only 2 other films) First thing on looking this up here on IMDb was 'Who the hell is that...???'Basically, pretty much the word 'amateurish' sums up my overall impression. Nice outdoor shots though; after viewing the film and before looking it up I would have sworn due to it's sort of dated execution (even for the time) that it had been made several years before this.As to the one comment in the discussion section, yes, Mariel does indeed look a tad 'Manish' (except for the lovely set displayed in the shower of course : ) but ever since seeing 'PERSONAL BEST' (cough...) I'm afraid that I've been quite taken with her (and that was BEFORE the implants!!!)Okay, okay... sorry to get carried away there... Basically there are MANY films starring these same people, not necessarily together of course, where they are LIGHT YEARS better. You wanna see a good solid Kurt Russell film, see either 'SOLDIER' (for Sci Fi fans) or 'THE THING' of course, for Horror fans, 'DARK BLUE' an excellent Police Drama / Thriller, or the more recent 'THE ART OF THE STEAL'. Another excellent film directed a MILLION times better than this one by the excellent Sidney Lumet, stars Andy Garcia and a lovely cast in 'NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN', another excellent Police Thriller!But, this one... just a '4' I'm afraid...
Jonathon Dabell
Kurt Russell has spent most of his career playing a big, dumb oaf (Overboard, Big Trouble In Little China, Tango & Cash, etc.), so it's refreshing to see him in a more serious role. The Mean Season is taken from a novel entitled In The Heat Of The Summer by John Katzenbach (whose other books include Just Cause, later filmed with Sean Connery). The film is a fairly engrossing, if familiar, serial killer story, set in Florida just as the summer ends and the stormy season begins.Miami Journal reporter Malcolm Anderson (Russell) writes a piece about the murder of a woman. Malcolm is getting bored of his job at the Journal and plans to move to pastures new with his girlfriend, teacher Christine Connelly (Mariel Hemingway). However, he receives a mysterious phone call from the murderer, congratulating him on his report and informing him of several more murders that he intends to carry out. Seems the killer wants to use Malcolm as his "conduit to the public". More murders follow, as promised, and each time Malcolm is given exclusive information from the killer. Soon, Malcolm is the toast of the journalistic world - every reporter wants his story, every TV station wants to interview him, and there's even talk of him being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. But the psycho at the centre of the whole business is enraged that his acts are being overlooked in favour of Malcolm's new-found celebrity status. And so he plans to teach Malcolm a lesson.....There's a little suspense in the story, especially when the unseen killer is on the phone to Malcolm. Also the gradual disintegration of Malcolm and Christine's relationship (he's seduced by the media spotlight; she wants him to end his liaisons with the murderer) adds a further layer to the story. The main problem with The Mean Season is that its second-half drifts into the kind of silliness that the first half is so careful to avoid. After setting up an exciting and intriguing premise, this comes as a disappointment. The killer, who has been ruthlessly efficient to this point, suddenly becomes sloppy and tries to make his murders ludicrously elaborate (even though the story has already made it obvious that he's supposed to be unswervingly cold-blooded). Also, the film can't resist one of those clichéd endings - a final frisson, if you like, which has been an overused device since Carrie (1976) - in which the killer "returns from the dead" to terrorise his victims one final time. The Mean Season is an OK thriller, but frustratingly it never quite becomes the first-rate movie that it might have been.
