There have been some great movies that deftly demonstrate the negative effects of the media. Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers comes to mind. And while that movie was constantly attacked for it's violence, I really admired it's wicked poke at pop culture media. Of course for every good film on the subject, there seems to be one that doesn't work. A good example is the Dustin Hoffman/John Travolta drama Mad City. That was a by-the-numbers film that lacked energy. Enter 15 Minutes, a new thriller that only hits the mark part of the time.

In 15 Minutes, Robert DeNiro and Edward Burns play a celebrity cop and an arson investigator who team up to solve a murder. In a typical buddy cop format, the two don't know what to think of each other at first, but quickly learn to work together. The murders (don't worry, I'm not giving away any sort of revelation in the film) were committed by a couple of foreigners who hope to make a big name for themselves in the states by videotaping their grisly homicides. Adding to an already volatile situation is a bigger than life newscaster (Kelsey Grammer) who will run a story no matter what the price.

15 Minutes has many strong attributes. DeNiro is as charismatic as ever while Burns fares much better than the coming attraction trailer suggests. Czech actor Karel Roden doesn't hold back as the film's chief villain. He has many scenes along side heavyweight actor DeNiro, and manages to soar with manic energy throughout the film. Grammer sheds his Frasier image, creating a wonderfully ruthless yet human news anchor. I also liked the chemistry between DeNiro and love interest Melina Kanakaredes, but wished their would have been more of it.

The problem with 15 Minutes is that it's a bit convoluted. Although the film does have unexpected surprises (there's a great one about midway through the picture), it can't seem to find it's footing. This movie constantly vacillates from smart to ridiculous, particularly where the villains are concerned. At one moment these guys can't do anything right. The next moment, they've single handedly figured out how all our laws work. Naturally, they learn most of what they know, by watching American movies, and this is obviously a major part of this film's theme. I also have a problem with the climax of this picture, an all to obvious resolution, and one we've seen countless times before.

It's been a long road for 15 Minutes. The movie has been done for quite sometime and the studio has kept the picture shelved for a while. Presumably they had a hard time marketing it, and it's easy to see why. Although this is hardly a revolutionary film, there's much about it worth recommending. It features strong performances, a couple of nifty action sequences, and some unexpected surprises. What it lacks, is consistency.