Customer Reviews

Small Vices [VHS]

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

 

 

It is interesting to me that even though I believe I watched most of one episode of the television series "Spenser for Hire" that when I worked my way through the extant Robert B. Parker novels in chronological order one summer that Avery Brooks was definitely Hawk in my mind's eye. However, I did not think of Robert Urich as Spenser. While I did think Urich had the general build of Spenser as described in the novels (to wit, ex-boxer) I did not hear him saying the witty lines written for the character by Parker. In "Small Vices," Joe Mantegna plays the part of Spenser and while I never would have thought of him for the role if I was doing the casting, I do think that for the most part he delivers the one-liners pretty well. However, I certainly do not think of him as being an ex-boxer.

For the record, I consider Marcia Gay Harden to be an ideal Susan Silverman but Shiek Mahmud-Bey is just too young to be Hawk.

Ultimately, with "Small Vices," I am more troubled by the fact it was somehow selected to be the first Spenser television movie with this new cast. I know it was because it was, at that time, the most recently published Spenser novel. Parker adapted his own novel so certainly the dialogue is in the spirit of the original words on the printed page. But "Small Vices" was the 24th Spenser for Hire novel and anybody come newly or lately to the character in novels and/or television incarnations is not going to appreciate the relationships as they stand and this point in the history of the characters. That is of vital importance, because as the teaser to "Small Vices" shows, this story is about the time that Spenser encountered someone who may well be his superior as an opponent.

My major complaint against the adaptation in the final analysis is that the psychological damage done to Spenser's psyche, as well as the long period involved in his physical recovery, is barely sketched out in the film. The novel took the time to develop both in much detail, which is why "Small Vices" was one of the very best of Parker's Spenser novels. Consequently, my response to this adaptation was that both the character and the viewers were being shortchanged by this brevity. I would have saved this pivotal Spenser story for later in this series of adaptations, assuming, of course, that it continues for sometime to come. Still, Spenser fans will see something here for the writer and cast to build upon.

If you've read the novel, you will be pleased to know that this stays quite true to it--most likely due to Parker himself scripting it (he also appears as mysterious government operative Ives). What I wasn't too thrilled about was the casting decisions and how they differed from previous Spenser flicks and the old "Spenser: For Hire" TV series: I could live with a new Belson (done once before), a new Susan (done twice before) and a new Quirk (the original actor died), but even with the recastings done in the Lifetime Spenser movies, they retained Robert Urich and Avery Brooks as Spenser and Hawk. Mantegna's a little too Brooklyn-sounding to be Bostonian, and Sheik Mahmud-Bey is way too friendly to even be considered a successor to Brooks. Also, all the police uniforms featured herein are Canadian-style; Captain Healy's Massachusetts State Police uniform isn't even close to the real thing. However, this new film is significantly edgier than the previous ones.

I have an image of Spenser from reading the books - that of a big guy with an 18 inch neck, 50 inch chest and 18 inch arms. Very strong and above all, very physical. Joe Mantegna is a good actor but (for me) just does not cut it as Spenser. He is just not big enough! Robert B. Parker himself, plays 'Ives' in one scene and it is clear to me that he based Spenser (at least physically) upon himself - although he denies this. Sheik Mahumud-Bey is too nice to be Hawk whom I see as menacing but articulate. Casting aside, the story was slow and quite frankly boring. By the time it ended I did not care what happened to the characters. It was treated as more of a love story between Spenser and Susan than a detective story.

sorry, but urich and brooks are the only two who should ever play these roles. despite Parker's opinion that JM is a better Spenser, he doesn't at all fit the bill. he looks nothing like how i saw the character in my mind even before the original show (while reading the books). he doesn't bring to mind an ex-boxer/street tough. he looks more like an accountant. and NO ONE could ever ever play Hawk the way brooks did. Avery Brooks IS Hawk. Just as Robert Urich IS Spenser. watching this film was like ordering steak and getting liver.

This film is not available in a format compatible with uk systems. So we Spenser fans in the UK must go unsatisfied.

I've long been a fan of Robert B. Parker Spenser books but, even though I watched them, I didn't really care much for the Robert Urich "Spenser for Hire" series. Too 'goody two-shoes' and 'television-ized.' That's why, when I found these Joe Mantegna movies, I enthusiastically thought that someone made some Spenser movies that were a little more 'raw' and true to the books. What a disappointment! The stories were accurate enough, but Joe Mantegna as Spenser? A former cop and boxer? I don't THINK so! I found him, and the actors filling the roles of Hawk and Susan to be completely unbelievable and wrong for the parts. These movies really made me MISS the Robert Urich series!

The star of this film is Marcia Gay Harden. Joe Mantegna as Spenser is very good- because he comes forward as a literate Spenser, and delivers the lines written by Parker very well. Mantegna chose Harden for the role, and he chose well.

Toronto resembles Boston in winter, although the Canadian police uniforms don't look at all like those of Boston's finest.

The Toronto setting led to a number of other small, but notable, details. The bus that takes Ellis Alves away from prison sports a Boston "T". The Suffok County Courthouse is played by the Colorado State Capital building. And, while the book's settings bounce between Boston and New York, that changing scene is not apparent in the film. The film's denoument in the museum is prefaced with an exterior shot of the Royal Ontario Museum (flying the stars and stripes on its flagstaff). After a year of Spenser being dead, Corsetti doesn't seemed at all surprised to find him in the museum, although the book places that scene at Rockefeller Plaza.

I had hoped that more Spenser films starring Harden and Mategna would be forthcoming- perhaps they will.

Excellent murder mystery investigation. Looking forward to the next Spencer / Robert Parker movie.

Joe Montega played Spenser better than I thought he would. The theme song is wonderful. Hawk's humour is well potrayed by Shiek. A must-see for Spenser fans (don't we hear that so much?).