"V. I. Warshawski" is no classic but it's a pretty good example of a late '80s/early '90s action movie. Kathleen Turner does a nice job. She's good at the jokes (there are quite a few big laughs) and believable with the action. The rest of the cast is also good. I should watch "V. I. Warshawski" more often. I really enjoyed it today. Honorable mention: Jay O. Sanders.
V.I. Warshawski
1991
Action / Comedy / Crime / Mystery
V.I. Warshawski
1991
Action / Comedy / Crime / Mystery
Plot summary
Victoria "V.I" Warshawski is a Chicago based private detective who agrees to babysit for her new boyfriend; then he is murdered. Being the detective type, she makes the murder her next case. In doing so she befriends the victim's daughter, Kat, and together they set out to crack the case.
October 10, 2023 at 09:28 PM
Tech specs
720p.BLUMovie Reviews
Better than its reputation
Definitely disappointing, but not awful
It is remarkable to me how much affection and revulsion this watchable, incomplete misfire of a film can inspire, here among the Comments and elsewhere; I haven't seen more than a few minutes of it for several years, but did see it in a theater in its original run. Kathleen Turner as VIW is too much a flirt to conform to Sara Paretsky's portrait of her detective, but otherwise gives a decent performance that, better than the script, gets across Warshawski's toughness, wit and unwillingness to suffer fools any more than she has to. The film, as someone else noted, would've done well to be a more faithful adaptation of one of the early novels, rather than pulling bits from several and then letting the plot go completely slack by the last third. But there are nice touches, here and there; Wayne Knight was born to play the petty thug and childhood schoolmate of Warshawski. But the hastiness and corner-cutting of the production is unfortunately evident. One wonders if a second film, with a better script and crew, might've been quite good.
Good Action Flick
I honestly don't understand the low rating. I totally enjoyed this movie. Kathleen Turner and Jay O. Sanders were especially great in this. It has a good story and a decent amount of action scenes. I'd suggest people ignore the low rating and give it a shot for themselves.
A thoroughly entertaining, undeservingly forgotten action comedy flick.