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Best Seller

Play trailer Poster for Best Seller R Released Sep 25, 1987 1h 32m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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69% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Police detective and successful author Dennis Meechum (Brian Dennehy) has not been able to write since his wife's death and owes an overdue manuscript to the publisher. When corporate hit man Cleve (James Woods) proposes his life story as a book, Meechum suspects he is a fraud. However, Cleve has proof of his hits for executive David Madlock (Paul Shenar). While this convinces Meechum, it also endangers his daughter (Allison Balson), whom Madlock kidnaps to stop the story from coming out.
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Best Seller

Critics Reviews

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Scott Tobias The Dissolve Best Seller wouldn't amount to much without Woods' foul, sadistic, gleefully profane edge. Rated: 3/5 Mar 30, 2015 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The problem is that Best Seller is light on plot, real light. It doesn't have a compelling story at its center, only the original inspiration of the best-selling cop and the killer who wants to talk. Rated: 1/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Two compelling lead performances charge this otherwise sloppy crime procedural. Rated: 2.5/4 Jul 10, 2023 Full Review Ángel Fernández-Santos El Pais (Spain) Best Seller is an intelligent and intuitive movie. [Full Review in Spanish] Apr 1, 2020 Full Review Sean Axmaker Seanax.com [Larry] Cohen cannily mixes social satire and genre twists in his clever screenplay of an unlikely friendship between two men with more history than they realize... May 22, 2016 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Ingenious big city cop film. Rated: B Apr 7, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jelisije J James Woods gives one of his better performances with probably the best written character of his career where a hitman sociopath befriends a former cop now writer with the story of a lifetime. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/24 Full Review Audience Member Easy to watch.The chemistry between Woods,and Dennehy carries the film. Not much to complain about here if you like clear crisp plot,and no major surprises to wreck the film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review steve d Predictable but really fun. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A taut, darkly comic page-turner that satirizes the buddy cop genre by magnifying the dialectic between the law and criminality, simultaneously bolstered by Woods' compelling gleefully glib performance and hampered by the belated realization that his desperate sadism was hardly a performance whatsoever. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Worth it to watch Woods and Dennehy. Woods is great in the role, and his relationship with Dennehy makes the film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member A nice 80s flick and one of the best buddy thing duet you've ever seen.. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Best Seller

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Cast & Crew

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John Flynn

Director

James Woods

Cleve

Brian Dennehy

Dennis Meechum

Victoria Tennant

Roberta Gillian

Allison Balson

Holly Meechum

Paul Shenar

David Madlock

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Best Seller

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Movie Info

Synopsis Police detective and successful author Dennis Meechum (Brian Dennehy) has not been able to write since his wife's death and owes an overdue manuscript to the publisher. When corporate hit man Cleve (James Woods) proposes his life story as a book, Meechum suspects he is a fraud. However, Cleve has proof of his hits for executive David Madlock (Paul Shenar). While this convinces Meechum, it also endangers his daughter (Allison Balson), whom Madlock kidnaps to stop the story from coming out.
Director
John Flynn
Producer
Carter DeHaven
Screenwriter
Larry Cohen
Production Co
Hemdale Studios
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 25, 1987, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.9M
Runtime
1h 32m
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