Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Murder at White House has D.C. homicide cop working with a Secret Service agent to find the killer.
Biased, pithy comments: You know with the sensationalist title and Clinton-like sex-in-oval-office theme (only this time with more dead people) that this won't be good, and, indeed, the daffy plot suffers from the ``So, why don't these people just go to the press and be done with it'' problem common in conspiracy movies---once you have incontrovertible proof, hie thee to CNN! Duh! The baddies and Secret Service, too, are some of the worst shots in the world; if this is the best they can do to control an area and provide good fire support, I don't feel as if my dignitaries are safe. I don't know of a lot of wargame miniatures fans without a bit of a pot belly---I don't know where Snipes has the time and money to support both his giant pecs and his wargaming bent. But, anyway, holes in the airy plot aside, one can say that the dialog isn't terrible, Snipes is fun, and Lane is actually quite nice both at acting and to look at. The supporting cast is filled with TV and movie standbys---Alda, Benzali, Cox, and Harris Yulin (dude! He played Cutter in ``Clear and Present Danger!'') do well by their generally underwritten parts, except for bits and pieces of Alda's work. It's no ``In the Line of Fire,'' but it's a satisfying mix of action as long as you don't think too hard or want it to be too much. It's a slick production of a by-the-numbers script that doesn't deserve it, essentially.
Other Notes: Fun, but essentially irrelevant, is that this is a production of color. DC, outside of the upper echelons of power, is generally a mix of different skin colors, and this movie has lots of ethnicities running around without a hint of stereotypes (well, except maybe Snipes' neighbor, and she just seemed human). I like it especially that we don't have to suffer through racial quips between the street-savvy black cop and the whitebread white cop. Then again, that may be because the script was written for Bruce Willis, who turned it down.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Daniel Benzali, Dennis Miller, Alan Alda, Ronny Cox, Tate Donovan.
Directed by: Dwight H. Little