
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309140070
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THIS `MCCOY' IS PRETTY UNREAL

Caper movies - those dealing with complex robberies - have to stay a certain distance ahead of the audience. Viewers need to know what's supposed to happen and then be happily surprised by the final reversals of their expectations.

It's seldom more than tricky formula filmmaking, but when it's handled properly, as it was in "The Sting," the result can be completely entertaining. When it's not handled properly, the result is a disaster.

"The Real McCoy" is a disaster.

It's slow, simple and never believable on any level. Neither the technical details of the heist itself nor the characters are remotely realistic. From the overly tricky introduction to the confusing finish, this one's a stinker.

Karen McCoy (Kim Basinger) is a brilliant professional cat burglar who botches the robbery of a big Atlanta bank. What exactly was she after? What was the plan? Why did the job go wrong? How and why did the wife of a used-car salesman and the mother of a 3-year-old come to be brilliant professional cat burglar? None of those are answered. The movie doesn't really begin until six years later when she's released on parole.

Karen just wants to go straight and to see Patrick (Zach English), her 9-year-old son. But her crooked parole officer (Gailard Sartain) teams up with her old partner Schmidt (Terence Stamp) to force her into another attempt on the bank. Supplying beefcake window dressing is J.T. (Val Kilmer) a bumbling but enthusiastic young thief who idolizes Karen.

The clockwork aspects of the script by William Davies and William Osborne never make enough sense to follow. When the robbery is being planned and we the viewers need to have a clear understanding of what's supposed to happen, we get only a sketchy outline. Then while it's going on, we're not in on the joke.

The reason might have been that Australian director Russell Mulcahy ("Highlander" and the sequel) tries to deliver all of the information visually, with Karen marking on blueprints, squinting at a computer screen or messing around with video gear. It's confusing, tiresome stuff, and Kim Basinger's limitations as an actress have never been more apparent. She's no more convincing as a worried mom than she is as an allegedly brilliant cat burglar.

She's not alone. All of the supporting characters are thinly drawn caricatures, so the rest of the cast sleepwalks through their roles, too.

Don't be surprised when "The Real McCoy" makes a quick getaway from theater screens and shows up in your favorite video store.

The Real McCoy: BOMB

A Universal release playing at the Valley View Mall 6. 106 min. Rated PG-13 for strong language and violence.

by CNB