Mad City . Tucson Weekly . 11-17-97

Mad City

DIRECTED BY: Costa-Gavras, Mr.

REVIEWED: 11-17-97

Who says a homicidal maniac can't be lovable? Who among us, given the right circumstances (a gun, a bag of dynamite, a snooty museum director who just won't listen) wouldn't take a bunch of schoolchildren hostage? Yes, this really is the premise of Mad City, an annoying, bombastic little frolic starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta as a pair of unlikely allies. Travolta plays a regular, not-so-bright working guy who sort of accidentally, without really intending to, holds a bunch of museum visitors hostage. But all he wants is his job back! And this mean lady won't give it to him! Hoffman plays a washed-up news reporter who just happens to find himself in the museum when the action goes down. A media circus of expected proportions ensues. Young innocents are corrupted. Lessons about exploitation are learned. Audiences feel ripped off.

--Richter

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