Customer Reviews

Instant Karma [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Kind of a hard movie to get into, in the begining, but, gets interesting as the story progresses.
Zane Smith (Craig Sheffer) has a laughingly pathetic life. He is the creator/producer of a hit, family t.v. show called "Rock 'n' Roll P.I." (get into that later). His life seems to be going in a downhill direction; his fiance leaves him for another woman; he owes the IRS 5 years worth of taxes, plus interest. His shrink, Dr. Berlin (played by Orson Bean), does him more harm than good.

Penelope (Chelsea Noble) is the object of Zane's obsessions. He meets her, and instantly becomes infatuated with on the set of Rock 'n' Roll P.I., where she is playing "Girl #3".
Then, there's Reno (David Cassidy). Reno is the star of "Rock 'n' Roll P.I." Ok...Rock 'n' Roll P.I. can best be described as a mix between "The Partridge Family", "David Cassidy:Man Undercover", "21 Jump Street". Reno, very well portrayed by former 1970's icon David Cassidy, is like Keith Partridge with a serious attitude problem. He's a temperamental, spoiled brat, that likes to get down and party...party in ways Mother Partridge would frown at.
Well, Zane's problem is his negative attitude. He dwells to much on how lonely he is, as well as obsesses to much on Penelope. His problem too, is how is he going to come up with 5 years of taxes owed, to pay his debt to the IRS??
Things look really bad for Zane...
Zane and Penelope's relationship moves in a possitive direction.

But, wait!!
The IRS comes down pretty hard on Zane. He owes quite a bit of money. Zane decides he can afford it, no problem, since Rock'n'Roll P.I. is a highly rated family show, even when it goes into reruns, so money shouldn't be a problem...
Well...life takes a serious turn. Fate? Karma? Well, Reno is arrested for possesion of cocaine, and charged with intent to distribute (WHOA!! The star of a family show, that has positive moral values, arrested for drugs!!!) The network pulls the plug on Rock'n'Roll P.I., and Zane loses everything...
...except love. Zane in the end, comes to his senses and realizes the most important things in his life are Penelope and his dog Wolfgang.
Hard to get into at first, but, it had a good story. David Cassidy as Reno was not the main, or central character of the story, but his was a strong pressence. Craig Sheffer as Zane almost reminded me of Kevon Bacon in his performance; Zane was a little stiff, kinda mannequin-like, whether he was meant to be portrayed that way, I am not sure, but Sheffer portrayed him very well, making him a likeable guy...he just needs to losen up.
If you are in the mood for a cute romantic comedy, you'll enjoy this.

I am a major Craig Sheffer fan. I have seen all his films and enjoyed them all...except for this one! I hate to say it, but it's pretty pathetic. It is the story of a filmmaker(Sheffer), the starlet he falls for(Chelsea Noble), and a spoiled actor(David Cassidy). After that point, I am not really sure what the movie is about at all! It does have a few funny moments, but on the whole not enough to make it worth the effort. Even Sheffer's acting ability could not salvage it. If you really need to see this film, wait for it to come on cable, or try and rent it. Otherwise, see one of Sheffer's numerous other films, there isn't a disappointment in the bunch.

I only bought this movie because David Cassidy was in it (he gets the star). He was the only good thing in it. He was a parody of his 2 former TV personalities. He played such a jerk and I found myself laughing at his outrageous behavior. His believability as such an arrogant jerk tells you what a great actor he is!!!!!!

This was an awful movie! C'mon Craig Sheffer, you've done movies so much better than this one! And it also features former 70's teen rock idol David Cassidy who plays a primadonna T.V. star in a series called "Rock N' Roll P.I.", whose character seems like a Keith Partridge with an attitude problem, his comeback album was realeased the same year as this movie. He must've been embarrased at the results of the film like Craig Sheffer should be since he's also done better productions such as his national theatre productions of "Blood Brothers"(with Petula Clark and his half brother Shaun),"EFX", and "Time." As well as his appearances in "Police Story"(2 parts),"Fantasy Island"(2 episodes),"The Love Boat", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Tales of the Unexpected", "Flash", and "The John Larroquette Show" and the T.V. movie "The Night the City Screamed." Craig Sheffer did great movies like "Some Kind of Wonderful", "The River Wild", and many others! Cast also features comedian, actor, and the husband of Shirley Jones Marty Ingels. I'd be surprised if this movie ever went to theatres, because it never came to where I used to live. Badly acted, directed, and scripted!

Craig, I am probably one of the biggest fans you have. I liked you in the movie, but the movie had a bad plot. I hope to see you in more films. I would like to meet you in person one of these days.