The Wharf Rat (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jimmy Huston

Writers (WGA):

Paul Kimatian (story) and
Jimmy Huston (story) ...

Release Date:

3 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller | Comedy | Crime

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Corruption | Fraud | Money | Murder

Cast

Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Petey Martin
Rachel Ticotin	...	Dexter Ireland
Judge Reinhold	...	Doc
Scott Cohen	...	Matt Martin
Rita Moreno	...	Mom
William Dunlop	...	Bucko
Alan Vint	...	Eli
Paul Willson	...	Sloopy
Peter Radon	...	Mario
Loren Farmer	...	Max Cowan
Wilfred Bray	...	Customs Agent
Steven Randazzo	...	Seafood Foreman
Beau Starr	...	Joey the Fist
Thoywell Hemmings	...	Basketball Kid
Jude Coffey	...	Meter Maid (as Judy Coffey)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Harbor, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

All Media Inc.

Soundtrack:

Never Alone

Pretty good

Petey is the man on the docks who can get you anything. He can move loads on and off ships for a cut of the action. However his brother Matt is a police officer. When Matt gets put together with a crooked cop, Doc, he not only gets involved with IAD but he also finds himself followed by an investigative reporter. With the suspicious killing of Matt, Petey finds himself drawn into a deadly game with Doc, his brother's partner.

This is actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The story is generally quite clever, there are some nice touches, some good twists and several of the characters are well drawn. However many bits of it are clichéd and you just have to overlook this as a consequence of it being a low budget film with not great actors.

Lou Diamond Phillips is not great at all - he's far too laid back and relaxed to be believable in the lead role. Scott Cohen is better as his brother who is skating a thin line between right and wrong. Judge Reinhold is OK as the crooked Doc but again it's hard to separate him from his usual goofy roles. Rita Moreno adds a much needed touch of class in a small role as the boys mothers and is good albeit in a small role (she's probably most recognisable as Sister Maria in Oz).

Overall this is a good thriller, the leads let down a solid story but not totally. The plot doesn't take you anywhere you don't expect it to but it has a few nice twists and has a reasonable ending. Would have benefited from better actors who would have made their characters more believable.