Best Seller (1987)
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60% of critics liked it
(10 reviews) -
46% of users liked it
(2,242 ratings)
Brian Dennehy plays a Wambaugh-type cop who has flourished as a novelist. At the moment, however, Dennehy is suffering from a profound case of writer's block. Coming to the rescue, as it were, is professional hit man James Woods. Recently dumped by his boss, above-suspicion business executive… More Brian Dennehy plays a Wambaugh-type cop who has flourished as a novelist. At the moment, however, Dennehy is suffering from a profound case of writer's block. Coming to the rescue, as it were, is professional hit man James Woods. Recently dumped by his boss, above-suspicion business executive Paul Shenar, Woods is anxious to tell his life story to Dennehy, in hopes of striking it rich with a tell-all bestseller. Shenar, however, takes a dim view of Woods' indiscretions, and for a while it looks as though it's curtains for both Dennehy and his teenaged daughter Allison Balson. Screenwriter Larry Cohen has claimed that Best Seller was based on Strangers on a Train. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Flynn
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
R,
- In Theaters
- Sep 25, 1987 Wide
- Studio
- Vestron Video
Critic Reviews
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Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily
A knockout. An intense, imaginative and exciting multilayered thriller. Woods and Dennehy are both outstanding. One of the unsung great movies of the 1980s.
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Clint Morris, Moviehole
One of the edgiest, most suspenseful thrillers of the 1980's....Woods is amazing
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Frank Ochieng, TheWorldJournal.com
This Best Seller is a fabulous read...slick, taut, and involving. Woods and Dennehy make for an unconventional crime-chasing pair.
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Scott Weinberg, Apollo Guide
The two leads make Best Seller easy to sit through, but the wandering script by Larry Cohen and the dreary pacing offered by director John Flynn sink what could have been a can't-miss b-movie hoot.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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James Woods
as Cleve
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Brian Dennehy
as Detective Lieutenant Dennis Meechum
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Victoria Tennant
as Roberta Gillian
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Allison Balson
as Holly Meechum
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Paul Shenar
as David Madlock
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George Coe
as Graham Madlock's Lawyer
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Anne Pitoniak
as Mrs. Foster
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Mary Carver
as Cleve's mother
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Sully Boyar
as Monk
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Kathleen Lloyd
as Annie
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Harold Tyner
as Cleve's Father
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Edward Blackoff
as Thorn
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William Bronder
as Foley
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J.P. Bumstead
as Rothman
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Wally Burr
as Talk Show Host
- Seymour Cassel
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Michael Crabtree
as Man in Bar
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E. Brian Dean
as Taxi Driver
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Jenny Gago
as Woman in Laundry
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Phil Hoover
as Roud
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Jay Ingram
as Turner
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Jeffrey Josephson
as Pearlman
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Ted Markland
as Man in Bar
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Loyda Ramos
as Female Officer
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Jeff Ramsey
as 4th Bodyguard
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Branscombe Richmond
as 1st Longshoreman
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Peter T. Stader
as Dock Worker
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Claudia Stenke
as Woman at Bar
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David Ursin
as Meechum's Lawyer
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Martin West
as Mature Cop
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Hank Woessner
as Man
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David Cass Sr.
as Cop in Depository
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Bill Mitchell
as El Paso TV Anchor
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Dean Abston
as Cabot
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Dennis Acree
as 1st Bodyguard
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Obaka Adedunyo
as Man in Car
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Samuel V. Baldoni
as Man
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David Blackwood
as Senator
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David Byrd
as Quentin
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Clare Fields
as Bartender
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Brian Gaffikin
as Waiter
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Sands Hall
as Teacher
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Larry Holt
as 3rd Bodyguard
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Gary Kirk
as Jason
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Arlin Miller
as News Reporter
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John Howard Swain
as Man at Airport
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Daniel Trent
as Jarvis
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Mark Venturini
as Bodyguard #2
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Michael White (I)
as Young Cop
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James Winburn
as Supervisor
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Sydney Urshan
as Drug Kingpin
- Michael White (X)
