The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 77

WEEKEND MOVIES FRIDAY OCTOBER 271 995 gQ THE HERALD Cast is the draw in conventional Copycat By RENE RODRIGUEZ Herald Movie Critic MOVIE REVIEW COPYCAT (R)A-W Copycat is a grade-B thriller with a grade-A cast and this time the cast makes all the difference Cast: Sigourney Weaver Holly Hunter Dermot Mulroney William McNamara Harry Connick Jr Will Patton Director: Jon Amiel Producers: Arnon Milchan Mark Tar-lov Screenwriters: Ann Biderman David Madsen Cinematographer: Laszlo Kovacs Music: Christopher Young A Warner Bros release Running time: 1 1 5 minutes Vulgar language violence gore nudity adult themes Playing at: area theaters Sigourney Weaver stars as Helen Hudson a criminal psychologist and bestselling author who is nearly killed by Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr) a psychopath who has an unhealthy fascination with her The encounter leaves Helen a victim of a paralyzing agoraphobia: so fearful she even take two steps to fetch the newspaper outside her apartment door outside world including the killer who sends her e-mail and frightening animations that provide clues to his next attack Weaver is at her best playing strong women in peril (Aliens Gorillas in the Mist) and good here too striking a nice balance between steel-trap analytical mind and her nervous-nelly skittishness Hunter is surprisingly commanding as the dedicated cop who helps bring Helen out of her shell and singer Connick is effectively creepy (and virtually unrecognizable) as the personable sicko As partner and tentative love interest Dermot Mulroney (Bad Girls) is his usual easygoing self and William McNamara (Doing Time on Maple Drive) pulls off the toughest role the friendly computer whiz with a truly twisted pastime But despite their good work you avoid the sense that all these actors are slumming a bit here Unlike the recent Seven which does something original and genuinely harrowing with the serial killer premise Copycat is thoroughly conventional TWISTED PASTIME: William McNamara is a sinister computer whiz Aside from a strangely inconsequential late plot twist the stoiy holds few surprises and the climax though suspenseful is pure Hollywood hokum Copycat is grandly silly in spots coldly manipulative in others But the actors treat the material with such seriousness they make it easy for you to do the same it says a lot about modern-day society when the idea of someone idolizing serial killers to the point of imitation seem far-fetched But when a string of brutal murders in San Francisco look like the handiwork of a serial killer she help contacting the investigating authorities and offering her expertise Copycat is built around our appetite for gruesome stories of real-life horror: As Helen and detective MJ Monahan (Holly Hunter) soon learn the murderer is patterning his crimes after famous killers David Berkow-itz Jeffrey Dahmer Ted Bundy whose exploits were painstakingly publicized and hungrily devoured by a ghoulish public That connection to reality adds to the fright factor and Unlike thrillers such as The Net and Hackers Copycat also makes smart realistic use of modern computer technology The shut-in Helen relies on her modem to communicate with the SCARY: Harry Conniok Jr plays a psychopath Reviewed in Weekend: Powder 4G Copycats this page Vampire in Brooklyn 6G Three Wishes The Old Woman who Walked into the Sea 8G Sneak preview: Home tor the Holidays at area theaters For times and listings in your area see page 14G ON THE NET: Dermot Mulroney and Holly Hunter right use Sigourney computer to track the killer 4 MM I i -5 4 P-.