True Colors (1991)

A great start fades away quickly
If you decide to watch "True Colors", I would advise you to watch about the first 30 minutes and then turn it off. The opening of the film is great, and will have you really gripped, but the movie will soon turn very familiar and you'll lose interest. By the end, you will almost laugh at the ridiculous conclusion.

The two main stars are James Spader and John Cusack. They meet the first day of law school at UVA when Cusack smashes into Spader's car on move in day, starting a huge fight between the two. No points for guessing that they will end up roommates. They overcome this tough start and become good friends. Cusack comes from rather humble roots, to say the least, while Spader has a somewhat higher pedigree. In fact, he is dating the daughter (Imogen Stubbs) of a senator (Richard Widmark). It doesn't take long before Cusack is lying left and right about his background, trying to impress everyone. This continues to Capital Hill, when both young men are hired in Washington. Spader is an assistant DA, Cusack works on Widmark's staff.

From here, you can guess what will happen. Knowing that Cusack is such a rotten apple, nothing will be a surprise. He will double cross his "friend" so many times, and in so many cruel ways, that it's implausible that Spader could even stand in the same room with him.

I won't give the story away, but I will say that the end of the movie, when Spader gets his "revenge" is so corny and unbelievable, I would rather have had him pull out a gun and just shoot him. That would have made more sense than this. All in all, the film starts out great and will ultimately leave you cold.

"Friendship is like the morning dew..."
I think this is an excellent movie. Good screenplay, good idea, great direction, great acting. John Cusack and James Spader make you believe they are actually best friends, they own their characters and the friendship between their characters.

"Friendship is like the morning dew..."
I think this is an excellent movie. Good screenplay, good idea, great direction, great acting. John Cusack and James Spader make you believe they are actually best friends, they own their characters and the friendship between their characters.