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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Good Premise Doesn’t Deliver In ‘Mad City’

Chris Hewitt St. Paul Pioneer Press

The movie’s called “Mad City,” but a more accurate title would be “Miffed City” or “Somewhat Peeved City.”

And that’s the problem. “Mad City” purports to have bold, provocative things to say about how the media exploits people. It should be a slash-and-burn comedy in the vein of “Network,” but it comes off as tentative and safe.

Dustin Hoffman plays a network TV newsboob who went from hero to zero because of a horrifying, much hinted-at error. Now toiling at a small station, he stumbles on a nice guy (John Travolta) who, almost by accident, takes kids hostage at a museum. It’s a minor event - all Travolta wants is a job - but Hoffman focuses the attention of the nation on the story and he goads Travolta into increasingly desperate actions.

That’s ripe ground for satire, and the idea of a newsguy advising a crook on how to gain public sympathy is clever. The problem is that “Mad City” isn’t a satire. It’s humorless and earnest, and it doesn’t even have the guts to make the bad guy bad.

After 90 minutes of hearing about Hoffman’s demotion, we learn he wasn’t demoted because he screwed up a story, but because he was too humane. Brother! (Just a guess: Was the script changed because Hoffman wouldn’t play a creep?).

The movie isn’t as thoughtful as it pretends to be, unless you’re surprised to learn that media folk can be reckless sometimes. It would have been more interesting, for instance, if Travolta seemed potentially dangerous or if the dynamic between the two leads shifted at some point, but it’s always clear that we’re supposed to sympathize with Travolta.

The gutlessness of the script is a shame because “Mad City” is well-made. Travolta played the same role in “White Man’s Burden,” but he and Hoffman are fine, and the media/escalating violence situation is fascinating.

If you want to see it done well, hunt down the documentary, “Waco: The Rules of Engagement,” instead.

xxxx “MAD CITY” Location: Lyons, Spokane Valley Mall, Post falls Cinema Credits: Directed by Constantin Costa-Gavras, starring Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta Running time: 1:50 Rating: R