''V.I. Warshawski'' is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring

Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards. Turner became widely k ...

, Jay O. Sanders, Charles Durning,

Lynnie Godfrey Caroline “Lynnie” Godfrey (born 1952) is an American actress, singer, author, director and producer. Early life Lynnie Godfrey was born in 1952 in New York City. She began performing as a child, singing with her mother and family members in ...

Anne Pitoniak Anne Pitoniak (March 30, 1922 – April 22, 2007) was an American actress. She was nominated twice for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) in 1983 for '' 'night, Mother'' and as Best Actress (Featured Role – Play) in 1994 for a revival ...

, Geof Prysirr, Angela Goethals,

Stephen Meadows Stephen Meadows (born 1950) is an American actor, architect and inventor. Biography Meadows was born in 1950, in Atlanta, Georgia. He has appeared in movies and television shows such as ''Ultraviolet'' with Esai Morales, ''V.I. Warshawski'' wi ...

, Frederick Coffin, Stephen Root and Wayne Knight.

Plot

Victoria Iphigenia "V.I" Warshawski (

) is a Chicago-based,

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

private investigator who lives the part of the hard-boiled detective, but below the surface, she is a softy. One night, while she is drinking at her favorite bar, she meets an ex- Blackhawks hockey player named "Boom-Boom" Grafalk (

). The two connect and a romance appears to be in the making, but Warshawski is surprised when "Boom-Boom" appears at her doorstep later that night with his 13-year-old daughter Kat ( Angela Goethals) in tow. He asks Warshawski if she could watch her, and Warshawski agrees. Later that night, "Boom-Boom" is killed in a boat explosion, and Kat hires Warshawski to track down her father's killer. In doing so, she befriends the victim's daughter; together they set out to crack the case.

Principal cast

as Victoria Iphigenia "V.I." Warshawski * Jay O. Sanders as Murray Ryerson * Charles Durning as Lieutenant Bobby Mallory *

as Sal *

as Lotty * Geof Prysirr as Ron Whartley * Robert Clotworthy as Philip Pugh * Angela Goethals as Katherine "Kat" Grafalk, Bernard's Daughter * Nancy Paul as Paige Wilson-Grafalk *

as Bernard "Boom-Boom" Grafalk * Frederick Coffin as Horton Grafalk *

Charles McCaughan Charles McCaughan is an American actor and director. Filmography Director and writer *'' Angel on Fire'' (2005) *'' Picture of Priority'' (1998) Acting *''The Cisco Kid'' (1994, TV) - Haynie *''V.I. Warshawski'' (1991) - Trumble Grafalk *''Legal ...

as Trumble Grafalk * John Fujioka as Sumitora * John Beasley as Ernie * Stephen Root as Mickey * Wayne Knight as Earl "Bonehead" Smeissen * Lee Arenberg as "Flesh" *

Mike Hagerty Michael Gerard Hagerty (May 10, 1954 – May 5, 2022) was an American actor. He was known for playing comedic blue-collar workers, including his recurring roles as Mr. Treeger, the building superintendent, on '' Friends'' and the manager of a ...

as "Babe" * Tom Allard as Eddie "Big Eddie" * Herb Muller as Contreras * Everett Smith as McGraw * Gene Hartline as Thug

Production

Writing

The film was based on a series of books by Sara Paretsky. Screenwriters Edward Taylor, David Aaron Cohen, and Nick Thiel adapted only one of Sara Paretsky's novels, '' Deadlock'', for the script for this movie, which took at least one liberty with the story. Whereas Paretsky had written the novel as a serious mystery, the screenwriters took an almost comedic approach. Paretsky was especially angry over the original script that had the independent female detective subordinate to a male counterpart for fear that a female character could not hold the lead role. The film's plot is very different from that of ''Deadlock''. In the book the ex-Blackhawks player Boom-Boom was the protagonist detective's cousin and lifelong companion, rather than a chance-met stranger; he had no daughter; and "Grafalk" was the family name of another character altogether, a devious shipping magnate who had a major role in the book but was dropped from the film.

Casting

Initially, the producers wanted to set the film in Baltimore and cast either Amy Madigan,

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

as Warshawski. Kathleen Turner reprised her character V.I. Warshawski in a series of radio plays on BBC Radio 4, the radio version of ''Deadlock'' itself being broadcast in 1993.

Filming

Principal production began in Chicago in November 1990. Scenes were filmed at Wrigley Field, Chicago;

Green Mill Cocktail Lounge The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (or Green Mill Jazz Club) is an entertainment venue on Broadway in Uptown, Chicago. It is known for its jazz and poetry performances, along with its connections to Chicago mob history. History Originally named Pop ...

- 4802 N. Broadway Avenue, Chicago, (used as the Golden Glow Cocktail Lounge); San Pedro, California, Long Beach, California; Fire Station 23 - 225 E. 5th Street, Los Angeles, and Warner Bros Studios. Completed shooting February 27, 1991.

Reception

Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' had mixed thoughts about the film but commended the acting: "It's too bad that ''V.I. Warshawski'' is itself a lot less glamorous than Ms. Turner's performance, since the character could easily be the centerpiece of a more appealing film...''V.I. Warshawski'' has a breezy style and a serviceable, even surprising detective plot. And it has Ms. Turner, who makes the most of V.I. Warshawski's sardonic humor."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of '' The Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and praised Turner's performance: "Kathleen Turner fits the character more closely than I would have imagined. Her laugh seems aged by whiskey, her smile is brave in the face of trouble, she kisses guys as if she'll never see them again, and she's usually right." The movie debuted poorly at the box office. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a rating of 24% based on 29 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "With ''V.I. Warshawski'', Kathleen Turner proves more than up to the task of leading a cop thriller -- it's the script that sadly isn't up to snuff."

Home media

The film was released on VHS on November 13, 1991; it was released on Laserdisc (4:3 ratio) the following year and on DVD on June 4, 2002 (in a 1.85:1 ratio). It was released on Blu-ray in May 2011.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:V.I. Warshawski (Film) 1991 films Films based on American novels Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Los Angeles Hollywood Pictures films 1990s mystery films 1991 action comedy films 1990s crime films American detective films Films directed by Jeff Kanew American mystery films Films scored by Randy Edelman 1990s English-language films 1990s American films