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American Perfekt

R 1997 1h 39m Mystery & Thriller List
Reviews 59% Audience Score 500+ Ratings
Psychiatrist Jake (Robert Forster) decides to take a vacation during which he makes all decisions based on a coin toss. Driving through the California desert, he picks up Sandra (Amanda Plummer), who's been run off the road by con man Santini (David Thewlis). When Sandra steals cash from Santini's car, he comes after them. Jake and Sandra develop a bond as they outrace him, but events take a turn for the worse when Sandra disappears and her unstable sister, Alice (Fairuza Balk), turns up. Read More Read Less
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American Perfekt

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Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Xan Brooks Independent (UK) Starting out as an addictive cat-and-mouse noir, American Perfekt ends up chasing its tail through ever-decreasing circles. Rated: 3/5 Jul 13, 2023 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 3/4 Apr 12, 2002 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The film fell too quickly into the serial-killer mode and lost the edge it never had but always wanted. Rated: C- Apr 22, 2002 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews [American Perfekt] wants to get by on quirkiness and so-called charm alone, and it just doesn't work. Rated: 1/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member LOL, the greatest Paul Sorvino movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member A strange independent thriller in which drifter Robert Forster travels the Midwest making all his decisions by the toss of a coin. The plot owes a little gratitude to Luke Reinhardt's cult novel The Dice Man, and though this film is nowhere near as clever as that piece of fiction, it is still reasonably entertaining, with decent performances. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member This was one of those crime thrillers that came along in the wake of Quentin Tarantino's emergence and tried to emulate his style for 'cool' violence. The only thing this has in common with Q.T. though, is Pulp Fiction's Amanda Plummer and Jackie Brown's Robert Forster in the cast. The rest pales in comparison, and frankly, I don't see much of a resemblance. A young woman (Faruza Balk) travelling through the desert on her way to meet her sister (Plummer) crosses paths with a psychotic physician (Forster) who decides his actions on the flip of a coin. When I seen this years ago, I was thoroughly entertained and thought it was a highly original and exciting film. On second viewing, it doesn't quite stand up to scrutiny. The originality I thought it once had is basically taken from novelist Luke Reinhart's "The Dice Man". What is an intriguing premise is played out with such a lack of urgency that it becomes very tedious, very quickly. It picks up when Fairuza Balk arrives in town though and Forster's psycho pychologist begins to reveal himself. However, he's still a little tepid and despite a decent performance, he's not nearly menacing enough. There are a few things worthy of admiration but it's the pacing that's all wrong, letting down a decent cast and missing an opportunity for genuine thrills. A half baked psychological thriller that aims high but ultimately falls hard from it's intended target. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Wants to get by on quirkiness and so-called charm alone, and it just doesn't work. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Fun killer-thriller with strong performance from Robert Forrester, which will make you wonder why he doesn't appear in more movies, particularly when this sort of film is made approx every ten seconds. Rarely does Paul Sorvino seem this engaged. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Pretty decent thriller which also happens to feature full-frontal nudity from Robert Forster! Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews
American Perfekt

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis Psychiatrist Jake (Robert Forster) decides to take a vacation during which he makes all decisions based on a coin toss. Driving through the California desert, he picks up Sandra (Amanda Plummer), who's been run off the road by con man Santini (David Thewlis). When Sandra steals cash from Santini's car, he comes after them. Jake and Sandra develop a bond as they outrace him, but events take a turn for the worse when Sandra disappears and her unstable sister, Alice (Fairuza Balk), turns up.
Director
Paul Chart
Producer
Irvin Kershner
Screenwriter
Paul Chart
Production Co
Destiny Entertainment Productions, Millennium Films
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 25, 2018
Runtime
1h 39m
Sound Mix
Surround
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