Today is the first day
of the rest of my death.
Extremely well cast (Dafoe, Walsh, Bostwick, Haddon, and consummate scene-stealer, Madeleine Sherwood once again walking away with her two scenes) and perfectly trashy episode of The Hitchhiker utilizes the noir formula (backstabbing, treachery, adultery, attempted murder, and criminal misconduct all find their way into the developing dimestore trash plot) to tell the story of a desperate writer willing to feign suicide by drowning (the final scene is a wonderful bit of irony in this regard) in order to gain notoriety and success. That writer is Jeffrey Hunt (Willem Dafoe; he always has been damn good at portraying creeps, and in "Ghostwriter" he once again brings his A-game), and his current "grieving" wife, Debby (Dayle Haddon), is secretly screwing around with her hubby's agent, Tony (Barry Bostwick; Rocky Horror Picture Show). When Jeffrey shows up to prove he's still alive, Debby is certainly taken aback. She wants him out of commission (he plans for them to vacate out of the country for a brand new life, using the profits from his rising popularity after death; the sales of his novels go through the roof once he's considered missing), and agrees at Tony's urging to help kill Jeffrey. But when it appears that Tony and Deb have drowned him in Jeffrey's hot tub all may not be as it seems. With E Emmett Walsh as a cop who is a bit suspicious of Deb and Tony, causing more than his share of irritation to the criminals, always poking around where he's not invited, asking questions that aggravate results. Walsh has always been that kind of character actor who can take three minutes and make them matter whereas a lot of actors couldn't carry a movie for 90 minutes. This episode of The Hitchhiker is so good, even Page Fletcher is used well as the narrator (there are times where his presence feels rather forced and jarring within a story that is set in a location where a hitchhiker seems unlikely), even at the end with the newspaper (nice touch), and his closing words quaintly puts the story (and Dafoe) to rest. Sherwood has a little part as Jeffrey's #1 fan, a librarian who leads the charge in publicly bringing acclaim to his work...she shows up right as Tony and Deb are about to shag; Sherwood perfected the annoying busybody who sticks her nose where it doesn't belong and talks over people. It fits beautifully in this episode because she has a big part in how Jeffrey's publicity gains such strength. I personally loved how fame is actually Jeffrey's undoing...fitting end to a real dirtbag. But in these kinds of plots, most of the characters deserve what they get.
Extremely well cast (Dafoe, Walsh, Bostwick, Haddon, and consummate scene-stealer, Madeleine Sherwood once again walking away with her two scenes) and perfectly trashy episode of The Hitchhiker utilizes the noir formula (backstabbing, treachery, adultery, attempted murder, and criminal misconduct all find their way into the developing dimestore trash plot) to tell the story of a desperate writer willing to feign suicide by drowning (the final scene is a wonderful bit of irony in this regard) in order to gain notoriety and success. That writer is Jeffrey Hunt (Willem Dafoe; he always has been damn good at portraying creeps, and in "Ghostwriter" he once again brings his A-game), and his current "grieving" wife, Debby (Dayle Haddon), is secretly screwing around with her hubby's agent, Tony (Barry Bostwick; Rocky Horror Picture Show). When Jeffrey shows up to prove he's still alive, Debby is certainly taken aback. She wants him out of commission (he plans for them to vacate out of the country for a brand new life, using the profits from his rising popularity after death; the sales of his novels go through the roof once he's considered missing), and agrees at Tony's urging to help kill Jeffrey. But when it appears that Tony and Deb have drowned him in Jeffrey's hot tub all may not be as it seems. With E Emmett Walsh as a cop who is a bit suspicious of Deb and Tony, causing more than his share of irritation to the criminals, always poking around where he's not invited, asking questions that aggravate results. Walsh has always been that kind of character actor who can take three minutes and make them matter whereas a lot of actors couldn't carry a movie for 90 minutes. This episode of The Hitchhiker is so good, even Page Fletcher is used well as the narrator (there are times where his presence feels rather forced and jarring within a story that is set in a location where a hitchhiker seems unlikely), even at the end with the newspaper (nice touch), and his closing words quaintly puts the story (and Dafoe) to rest. Sherwood has a little part as Jeffrey's #1 fan, a librarian who leads the charge in publicly bringing acclaim to his work...she shows up right as Tony and Deb are about to shag; Sherwood perfected the annoying busybody who sticks her nose where it doesn't belong and talks over people. It fits beautifully in this episode because she has a big part in how Jeffrey's publicity gains such strength. I personally loved how fame is actually Jeffrey's undoing...fitting end to a real dirtbag. But in these kinds of plots, most of the characters deserve what they get.
