Recognizable stars can't save the blunt thriller Perfect Stranger – a disorganized movie filled with unnecessary dialogue and ridiculously predictable situations in a surprisingly weak script.
Halle Berry has the lead role as Katharine/Ro, a tenacious journalist at the New York Courier. Her information-gathering skills are complemented by several aliases and her research partner Miles, played by Giovanni Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan, Friends). Miles has endless energy and focus, but Ribisi tenses his face muscles in almost every dialogue scene. This is an annoying habit, particularly when his scatter shot dialogue doesn't have any real focus.
Ro's beginning investigative story of a Senator seems misplaced until you understand how she's drawn to men of power and has a desire to bring them down. She establishes, particularly to Miles, that no man rules her, but this message is contradicted. You get hints of a darker side (e.g. problems with her boyfriend) but the story just skims along, touching several different areas.
Without a steady theme and character development that could put some real emotion into the story, Berry can only draw upon her own personal appeal, as the audience must sift through the mundane situations and possibilities presented. Filmmakers definitely could've stressed the position of her boyfriend, played by Gary Dourdan (CSI, Alien Resurrection), or shown more of Ro's famous stories (e.g. a quick montage sequence) without spoiling anything. At least the audience would have a better idea of her character.
One important question audiences might ask themselves: How do the other characters know where to find this seemingly professional reporter, who has several aliases, in a large city? A childhood acquaintance named Grace, played by Nicki Aycox, finds Ro in an alley. Miles seems to find her at will. Even the New York Courier's editor, played by Richard Portnow (Good Morning Vietnam, The Sopranos), tracks her down in a café.
After a very odd jump in the story, Bruce Willis enters the picture as ad execute Harrison Hill, who is Ro's next journalistic target. Hill has a survivor attitude and believes deeply in loyalty (and self righteous justice). His strong convictions and survival-type attitudes open him to constant power struggles, which make him paranoid in almost every situation. "Kill or become irrelevant," he says. As her alias, Katherine, Ro quickly assesses Hill's professional and personal life thanks to Miles' research and a very gossipy co-worker named Gina, played by Clea Lewis (Ellen television series), who introduces even more possibilities and situations to the story.
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