04/18/97
MOVIE REVIEW: Murder at 1600
'Murder at 1600': Death by cliche

By JIM SEAVOR
Journal-Bulletin Arts Writer

** (out of five)
Starring Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Dennis Miller, Alan Alda, Daniel Benzali, Ronny Cox. A Warner Bros. release written by Wayne Beach and David Hodgin, directed by Dwight Little. Rated R, sex, violence, language. Running time 107 minutes.

Murder at 1600 is a by-the-book, formula mystery that never rises above the obvious.

In a Washington where it apparently rains every night, homicide detective Harlan Regis (Wesley Snipes) is called to investigate the murder of a woman at the White House. There, he finds himself in a position dear to the heart of many filmmakers -- the individual up against all the powers of government. He wants to solve the case. They want to keep things quiet.

Secret Service agent Nina Chance (Diane Lane) is assigned as his liaison and it's not too long before she's torn between her sworn duty to protect the president and his family and to help Regis solve the case.

As if having someone killed in the White House isn't trouble enough, the president (Ronny Cox) is facing a hostage crisis in North Korea that threatens to topple the presidency.

Through it all, good guys turn out to be bad guys and bad guys turn out to be good guys. And no one can be trusted, or can they?

Despite all the twists and turns in the plot, it is painfully easy to figure out where things are headed and who the ultimate villain is.

Snipes does well enough as the detective. He's likable, but certainly not charismatic. And a "humorous" subplot about his trying to keep his house from being condemned for a parking lot just doesn't work.

Lane, like Snipes, is burdened by a character that is not fleshed out. We're told she got on the Secret Service after taking the Olympic gold as a sharpshooter. Apparently it was a talent not easily retained. In one chase sequence she's a sure shot. At other times, when the script calls for more jeopardy for her and Snipes, she can't hit the side of a building.

Alan Alda does his Alan Alda thing as the president's best friend and aide. Daniel Benzali heads White House security with an ominous tone and Dennis Miller is wasted as Snipes's friend and a kind of cynical commentator on life in the capital.