''Slam Dance'' is a 1987

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

thriller directed by

Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong Americans, Hong Kong–American Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese Americans, ...

and starring

Tom Hulce Thomas Edward Hulce (; born December 6, 1953) is an American actor and theater producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Academy Award-winning film ''Amadeus'' (1984), as well as the roles of Larry "Pinto" Kr ...

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (born November 17, 1958) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in the 1980 revival of ''West Side Story'', and went on to appear in the 1983 film '' Scarface'' as Al Pacino's character's sist ...

Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pri ...

and

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroe ...

. It was screened out of competition at the

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1987 in film, 1987. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Under the Sun of Satan (film), Sous le soleil de Satan'' by Maurice Pialat, a choice which was considered "highly controversial" and the prize ...

Plot

A married

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

named C. C. Drood becomes involved in the cover up of a political

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

after his lover, Yolanda Caldwell, a call girl, is found murdered. Drood has betrayed his wife Helen with the exotic Yolanda, whom he meets at a club where the patrons slam dance, violently crashing into one another on the dance floor. Bobby Nye, a former lesbian lover of Yolanda's, hires a hit man named Buddy to do away with Drood, who is also hotly pursued by the police. Drood ultimately comes to believe that Bobby and Buddy are the ones responsible for Yolanda's death. A corrupt cop, Gilbert, is doing everything in his power to pin the whole thing on Drood, but a police colleague, Smiley, intervenes on the wanted man's behalf. Buddy is eventually overcome with guilt in his role in the killing of Yolanda, so he spares Drood's life and takes his own. To escape with his wife and his life, Drood tries to make Nye and the cops believe that Buddy's body is actually his.

Cast

as C.C. Drood *

as Helen Drood *

as Yolanda Caldwell *

as Smiley *

Don Keith Opper Don Keith Opper (born June 12, 1949) is an American actor, writer, and producer who has starred in film and on television. He is best known for his role as Charlie McFadden in the 1986 science fiction film '' Critters'' and each of the three se ...

as Buddy *

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

as Jim Campbell *

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...

as John Gilbert *

Judith Barsi Judith Eva Barsi (June 6, 1978 – July 25, 1988) was an American child actress. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television series, as well as the 1987 film '' Jaws: The Revenge''. She also provided the ...

as Bean Drood *

Lisa Niemi Lisa Niemi Swayze (born May 26, 1956) is an American writer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and director. She is the widow of actor and dancer Patrick Swayze. Early life Lisa Anne Haapaniemi was born in Houston, Texas, the only daughter of ...

as Miss Adrienne Schell *

Herta Ware Herta Ware (June 9, 1917 – August 15, 2005) was an American actress and activist. Early life Ware was born Herta Schwartz in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Helen Ware, a musician and violin teacher, and Laszlo Schwartz, an actor wh ...

as Mrs. Raines *

Millie Perkins Millie Perkins (born May 12, 1938) is an American film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 19 ...

as Bobby Nye * Dennis Hayden as Mean Drunk

Production and reception

After writing and directing ''

Chan Is Missing ''Chan Is Missing'' is a 1982 American independent comedy-drama film produced and directed by Wayne Wang. The film, which is shot in black and white, is plotted as a mystery with noir undertones, and its title is a play on the Charlie Chan f ...

'' and '' Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart'', the latter receiving "mixed reviews ndmodest ..box office earnings",

chose to direct ''Slam Dance'' to avoid being seen as a director primarily of stories about

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

s; as such, it was Wang's first film in which none of the main characters are Chinese. However, constant interference on the part of the producers led him to try and get his name taken off the film. The film grossed $486,881 in the United States on a $4.5 million budget and received mixed reviews. Critics had some praise for the acting and cinematography, but faulted the plot as disjointed and confusing. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' film critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

wrote in his November 6, 1987 review that Wang "goes straight if quite gracefully to the bottom with his first mainstream movie", describing it as "less interesting for its characters than for its fancy decor and images." For paperback: .

Release dates

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

- September 11, 1987 (

Toronto Festival of Festivals The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

) *

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

- October 2, 1987 * UK - November 13, 1987 *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

- November 13, 1987 *

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

- November 27, 1987 *

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

- December 26, 1987 *

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

- February 5, 1988

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slam Dance (Film) 1987 films 1980s crime films 1980s crime thriller films 1980s mystery films American mystery films American neo-noir films British mystery films British neo-noir films Films about comics Films about fictional painters Films directed by Wayne Wang Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Punk films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1980s British films