Customer Reviews

Murphy's Law [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

He throws his groceries at carjackers! He gargles mouthwash! He hates mayonaise! He's an alcoholic! He has a girl 104 years younger than him, hitting on him! His ex wife is a stipper! And he's framed for murder! He's Jack Murphy, a no nonsense cop framed for murder, trying to clear his name...tra-la, tra-la. The plot is as cliche as it can be, but this is Bronson, baby! Us devoted Bronson fans watch his films because he's in them and we all love the charm and presence he brings to the run of the mill 80s action formula. Actually, we could all care less what it's about as long as Bronson's kicking some butt and shooting people from time to time. This film is no exception and will please the diehard Bronson lover in us all. Plus, this movie's got one of the coolest villians that Bronson's been up against. This woman is crazy and dangerous as hell. In one scene she drowns some poor schmuck in a bathtub, then decides to throw a lamp in the tub for some added zing! I hate to sound repetitive, but ah, the 80s! Get Murphy's Law, brothers and sisters. It's a wonderful piece of bric-a-brac for your Bronson collection.

A solid and very entertaining mid 80s Charles Bronson actioner.

Rivalled only by "The Evil That Men Do" and "10 to Midnight" for the accolade of Bronson's best movie after his 70s heyday.

I've watched this film several times and always enjoy it. Kathleen Wilhoite makes a sparkling and memorable debut and was seen recently in the first season of "24".

Bronson fans are very unlikey to be disappointed in what is - like many later Bronson pics - pretty standard good action fare elevated by the great man's personal charisma. Therefore, this film is perhaps unlikley to ensnare any new converts.

charles bronson plays jack murphy he is trying to stop a killer jack murphy bronson is framed for murder of his wife he has no choise to escape and find the real killer the movie is full of action and thrilling game of hide and seek the movie is directed by j lee thompson and is one of bronson better older movies a must for all bronson fans

Murphy's Law: If anything could possibly go wrong, it will.

Murphy's Second Law: Don't mess with Jack Murphy. (Substitute the usual word for `mess.')

Murphy's Law is a lot better than some people would have you believe. Yeah, yeah, it's a Charles Bronson film from the Eighties, a period when a lot of film enthusiasts sniffed that Bronson was little more than a stuffed dummy who phoned in his performances. Bronson is one of those actors who make condescension drip from the lips of some cineastes.

Charles Bronson was no typical Hollywood actor. He didn't have to be. With that worn-out, weary, tough face he could set a scene just by being there. Bronson was Bronson, and we knew the kind of taciturn, honest, relentless character he'd be. Bronson was a private man, kept to himself, was realistic about his talents and proud enough to deliver the goods. With all that said, you either kind of like his star movies, or at least some of them, or you kind of don't. Murphy's Law is one I like.

Jack Murphy is a police detective on the downslide. His wife, a stacked stripper at a gentlemen's club who fancies herself a dancer, has just divorced him. Murphy doesn't want to let her go, drinks himself into a stupor most nights and shows up for work with stains on his rumpled suit and bad breath. Then his wife is killed and he's arrested for her murder. Jack Murphy knows he must find out who the real murderer is, so he breaks out of jail. While he tries to identify the killer, the killer bumps off one person after another who helps Murphy or who was associated with him. Early in the movie we know who the killer is (this is no spoiler), a psycho named Joan Freeman (Carrie Snodgrass). Murphy put her behind bars ten years ago and now she's out. She's ready for some wet revenge. She leaves corpses in her wake. She pumps iron with a vengeance. She smokes. She's also handy with a garrote, a cross bow and a pistol. Never, never take a bath with her.

With just this as a plot Murphy's Law might have been an efficient, violent and reasonably entertaining Bronson movie. What I like about it is the gimmick -- the relationship between Murphy and a foul-mouthed young thief named Arabella McGee (played by Kathleen Wilhoit). Murphy had been handcuffed to Arabella at the stationhouse after he was arrested. When he broke out he had to take her along with him. A movie cliché? Sure. I think it works because of Murphy's tough stoicism and Arabella's creative and energetic profanity. There's nice chemistry between Bronson and Wilhoit. Wilhoit looks more like a tomboy than a cutesy starlet, more a gamin rough around the edges. She's a good actress and holds her own with Bronson's screen charisma. When the handcuffs finally come off thanks to Arabella's lock-picking skills, she decides to stick around with Murphy. If he can clear his name, he'll clear hers as being an accomplice in the escape. And off they go, with Murphy now fighting a three-front war. Freeman is after him. A cop who hates his guts is after him. And a mob smoothie he beat up is after him. The climax is a rough battle between Murphy and Freeman in a dark, gloomy building already loaded with some of her corpses. Arabella proves useful. Murphy proves capable.

The movie looks good on DVD. There are no extras of any consequence.

There's nothing terribly original or inspired about the joyously politically incorrect Murphy's Law, which sees Charles Bronson's alcoholic cop handcuffed to Kathleen Wilhoite's foul-mouthed petty criminal (who refers to him as `scrotum cheeks' among other more colourful epithets) and on the run after the murder of his stripper wife. He's innocent, of course, framed by Carrie Snodgress' weight-pumping psycho who's working her way through all the people who had her committed and a few who had her released as well ("You never should have let me out, you know. I really am crazy," she tells her probation officer before strangling her on an ill-advised home visit). You pretty much know exactly how this one's going to play out every step of the way, and yet it's still a surprisingly entertaining and even more surprisingly well-made audience picture. Bronson actually has something to act for once and responds with one of his best late performances, Wilhoite's punky foil playing off him engagingly enough for you to forgive her the truly terrible end title song while J. Lee Thompson's direction is pretty good here, elevating the picture from the uninspired production-line fodder of his last collaborations with the star. It all ends up with a silly three-way shootout in the ever-popular Bradbury Building (Blade Runner, Outer Limits, Wolf, Quantum Leap) between Bronson, a corrupt cop, some pissed-off mobsters and a crossbow-wielding harpy before a last-minute reprieve for one character you suspect originally didn't make it to the end credits until they previewed the film, but while it won't overtax your little grey cells or compliment your intelligence, it delivers the goods as an undemanding action film with surprising aplomb.

An acceptable widescreen transfer but the only extra is the trailer.

"Murphy's Law" has a special place in my heart because it is the first movie that introduced me to Charles Bronson many, many, many years ago. Charles plays Jack Murphy a burnt out cop who is framed for killing his ex-wife. Jack (Bronson) is arrested for the murder, but vows to find the real killer.

Jack (Bronson) ends up getting hand cuffed to a young girl named Arabella McGee (Kathleen Wilhoite). For the record Arabella has a bit of a potty mouth. As a matter of she calls Jack (Bronson) "snot licking doggie fart". Isn't that awesome? Now it should be noted that Jack arrested Arabella prior in the film for stealing his car.

Jack (Bronson) breaks out of jail, takes his new "hand cuffed partner" with him in order to find the killer. There is also a really cool sequence in this film that takes place in the Bradbury Building. This movie gives you Bronson at his best, fighting scum, great one liners and a drinking problem that never seems to be addressed.

This DVD provides "Murphy's Law" in both wide and full screen, with a crisp picture. This DVD also features the original trailer/preview. I don't know why there are so many negative thoughts on this movie. For people to be upset that there was nudity, violence, profanity and sexual situations in this movie is bizarre to me. This is a Charles Bronson movie that was made in the 1980s baby!!! I don't know what people think they are going to be watching, "Blue's Clues" or maybe some watered down PG-13 flick. "Murphy's Law" is a crime thriller that doesn't try to be anything else and that is why it is a classic.

I found this movie exciting. It had language I did not appreciate, including in a twice repeated segment dealing with the film's title, both early and very late in the movie (paraphrased):

BAD GUY: "Murphy's Law is whatever can go wrong will go wrong."

JACK MURPHY (Charles Bronson): "No, Murphy's Law is don't mess with Jack Murphy." (I use "mess"; the original word in the movie is one I would never use.)

Besides the foul language, there is nudity and gore which I did not think added anything to the story, but helped get the R rating I believe the filmmakers were aiming for.

Take all that away, and you have an excellent and suspenseful movie. You have a cop falsely accused of murder handcuffed to a young female thief who tried to rob from him earlier. The result is a relationship that makes one wonder if it is more of a september-may romance or a father-daughter relationship.

Additionally, there are plot twists that kept me guessing. I was at the edge of my seat to the end of this picture.

Take the R-rating seriously. This is not for teens. But it is a well-done adventure I really enjoyed.

Charles Bronson is Jack Murphy, a cop under going a bitter divorce who is framed for a series of murders. Since no one believes him, Jack busts loose to solve the crimes himself. Trouble is there is a foul mouthed girl young enough to be his granddaughter handcuffed to him. The two join forces and, as they unravel the clues, the hunters become the hunted. It's the energetic performances by the two female leads (Carrie Snodgress as the revenge seeking killer and Kathleen Wilhoite as the foul mouthed girl handcuffed to Murphy) that lift this routine thriller above the average.

This movie was highly recommended by a friend and it lived up to my expectations.
This was one of Charles Bronson's most interesting and action pact films.

The one problem I encountered with the DVD was the sub-titles that I couldn't delete. Maybe it was my hardware.

Merchadise arrived on time. DVD looked like a copy but worked OK.

This is a typical Bronson movie...he played a cop being framed by an ex-con he sent to jail. The wrinkle this time is that the con is a woman, wickedly played by Carrie Snodgrass. Snodgrass, a foul mouthed neurotic, began murdering everybody who is connected to Bronson, in order to frame him, and everybody who sent her to jail, including the judge (whom she drowned in a tub) and the prosecutor (plastic bag suffocation).

Bronson himself is handcuffed to an equally foul mouthed female, but the two join forces.

This is an okay film, mainly due to Carrie Snodgrass' performance. She is so hateful that you just can't wait to see her comeuppance.