The Chase (1994 film)
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| The Chase | |
|---|---|
 The movie cover for The Chase. |
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| Directed by | Adam Rifkin |
| Produced by | Cassian Elwes Brad Wyman |
| Written by | Adam Rifkin |
| Starring | Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson |
| Music by | Richard Gibbs |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | March 4, 1994 |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Chase is a 1994 movie starring Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson. It featured a cameo with both Anthony Kiedis and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Henry Rollins is also in the film, playing a police officer.
[edit] Plot
Jackson Davis Hammond (Charlie Sheen) goes into a gas station to refuel his car. As the incompetent clerk is serving him, he looks around and sees a young girl also in the store, buying magazines. Two police officers enter the gas station, and Jack gets visibly impatient. Jack hears over the officers' radios a call looking for a man who escaped from prison, driving a vehicle that matches the one Jack is driving. Jack grabs the girl and takes her hostage, apparently at gunpoint. He tells the clerk to give him the officers' pistols, which the clerk nervously (and again, incompetently) manages to do. Jack and the girl leave the store, and Jack makes the girl get in the car with him driving.
Soon after, other officers start chasing the car, including two officers (Henry Rollins and Josh Mostel) who have a TV producer and cameraman with them, in the process of filming footage for a new TV show about police in action. Jack is nervous and just trying to think through the situation. The girl is hysterical, and pleads with Jack to let her go; he insists that he will let her go eventually, he just needs her for insurance first. While Jack is trying to use the car's cigarette lighter (as he says the only reason he stopped at the store was for cigarettes and gas), the girl grabs it and puts it into his neck, burning him. This causes the car to swerve all over the road. She drops it, and it lands in his crotch. He doesn't notice for a few seconds, but when he does, the car is filled with smoke, and he swerves again. He tells her to get rid of it, and she throws it out the window. For this, he yells at her, because now he has no means of lighting his cigarettes.
Since he is still driving in downtown Newport, he has to drive erratically in order to avoid traffic, including almost hitting a group of people playing football. The girl starts to get carsick with all the swerving, and upon Jack's suggestion, leans out the window. The occupants of the car behind her (the two police officers and the camera crew) think that she is signalling them, but she ends up vomiting.
At the police station, we learn that the girl is Natalie Voss, the daughter of Dalton Voss, the richest man in California. The police chief gets very nervous at hearing this, since he knows that Dalton Voss has enough power to end his career.
Jack takes the chase onto the freeway, where it will be much easier for him to drive, and the police officers know this. They know it will become a dangerous situation on the freeway. More police cruisers are joining the chase, and a news helicopter notices the chase going on. The event starts being broadcast on TV, as Jack passes a truck carrying cadavers for medical research. The truck swerves, spilling the dead bodies onto the road in front of the police cruisers.
Jack and Natalie start talking, since Jack is still waving his gun around as he talks, and Natalie is yelling at him about it. He says that he's usually a likeable guy when he's not holding someone hostage. He tries to make conversation, introducing himself. Natalie tells him that he can't be nice if he's a kidnapper, while Jack says that there are no set rules for kidnapping. Natalie agrees that she will only talk if Jack puts the gun away, so he puts the pistol in his lap. He reintroduces himself, and she introduces herself. He makes a joke about her last name, asking if she's related to Dalton Voss. She says that Dalton is her father. When Jack realizes she is not joking, he also realizes that everyone will think that he kidnapped her because she is Dalton Voss' daughter. The news stations and police officers have made just that connection, as Dalton Voss shows up at the police station. Voss is, of course, quite irate that the officers have not yet rescued her. We find out that Jack has been convicted of armed robbery.
Two police cruisers come up on the car Jack is driving, in an attempt to pin him. He sees this happening, and grabs the pistol, pointing it out the window. Right then, he hits a bump, and the pistol goes off. The round hits the cruiser's tire, causing it to flip over, also sending a van flying off of the road. Natalie is telling Jack that he is a violent man, and Jack explains that he is not violent, he has only been driven to violence. The car phone rings, and it's the police chief. He wants to negotiate with Jack, but Jack knows that it's not an option for him. Dalton comes on the phone, and wants to negotiate. Natalie says she's fine, and Dalton offers $50,000 for her release. Jack notes that for a billionaire, this is a measely sum for the worth of his daughter. He also states that he's not interested in money. Natalie, her father, and her stepmother start argueing, and Jack comes in, yelling at the father and stepmother for berating Natalie during such a crisis.
The newsstations continue their coverage of the event, including slogans such as "Terror on the Freeway."
Jack and Natalie discuss Natalie's relationship with her father, and her upbringing. She says that she'd much rather be living a normal life than be the daughter of Dalton Voss. She hates her stepmother for being controlling, and for marrying her father solely for the money. She says that she really likes her mother, but thinks she could be a parent rather than her current status, which is her best friend.
Jack's lawyer calls the carphone, pleading with Jack to stop the chase, so they can continue more appeals in his trial. Jack insists that they already did everything as they should, and he was still convicted. He also says that now that he's a kidnapper, his original sentence would be lengthened even more. Jack does thank his lawyer for his help though, for being the one person who believed in him.
This summary is not complete. It will be finished soon.
[edit] Soundtrack
It has not been confirmed that an official soundtrack was released, but this is the movie's music listing:
- One Dove - Breakdown (Radio Mix)
- Suede - The Next Life
- Stephen Stuart Short - Macho Man (written by the Village People)
- Bad Religion - Two Babies in the Dark
- Offspring - Forever and A Day
- Down By Law - Our Own Way
- Rollins Band - Shine
- Dan Carlson - House
- Rancid - Adina
- Offspring - Take It Like a Man
- Rancid - The Bottle
- NOFX - Please Play This Song on the Radio
- NOFX - Warm
[edit] Trivia
- Canadian Band Alexisonfire has a song called "Charlie Sheen Vs. Henry Rollins" based on the film.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers band members Flea and Anthony Kedis appear in the film.
