Clean Slate
PLOT:
Maurice Pogue (Carvey) has Anterograde amnesia, a form of amnesia that prevents him from remembering anything that happened to him the day before. He realizes from a recording he made for himself the previous night (Sunday) – to keep himself in the know – that he’s a private investigator in Los Angeles, and acquired the condition after being injured during a case. Pogue tells himself not to reveal his condition to anyone, as he’s the key witness in the case against the man responsible for his amnesia. Appearing on the recording is a strange woman, Sarah Novak (Golino), who informs him she has been living under the alias Beth Holly in San Francisco, and she has come to L.A. because she is being blackmailed. The police then come to Pogue’s office, and take him to what turns out to be his birthday party. He tells his friend Dolby (Jones) that he’s seen Sarah, and learns from Dolby that Sarah is dead. While at the party, Pogue also meets Anthony Doover (Michael Murphy), his doctor – the only person who knows of Pogue’s condition.
Two henchmen take him from the party to meet Philip Cornell (Gambon), the man Pogue is to testify against. Cornell offers Pogue a large sum of money to deny witnessing Cornell’s involvement in the crime. On re-examining his files at the office, Pogue learns that Sarah was once Cornell’s lover, who decided to testify against Cornell lest he killed her because of her knowledge of his illegal activities. Sarah hired Pogue to protect her but was killed by a car bomb, the same bomb that caused his amnesia. That night, Pogue meets Sarah at a fashion show she’s modeling in. She tells him the girl that was killed in the explosion was a double, and that someone’s threatening to tell Cornell she’s still alive. Sarah also tells Pogue about a valuable coin Cornell stole from the L.A. County Museum, which she in turn stole from him. Sarah tells Pogue that she gave him the coin the morning before the explosion; Pogue cannot remember. The only clue the two have about the coin’s location is one word Pogue said when Sarah gave it to him, “Baby.”
The next morning, Pogue has forgotten everything again. Cornell shows up to his office to get Pogue’s sworn statement but Pogue, mistaking Cornell for his landlord, gives him a check for rent. Pogue tries throughout the day to figure out where the coin is but doesn’t find any answers. Later on he meets with Sarah; she stays at his place for the night and they make love. Pogue wakes up the following day remembering everything from the day before. Through learning his dog is Baby, he recalls that he hid the coin in its collar. He takes Sarah to a payphone to call the people who are blackmailing her, Pogue notices that her handwriting is not the same as on the note the coin was wrapped in. Thus realizing she cannot really be Sarah Novak, he switches the coin without her knowledge. He then follows her and finds that Doover and she set up the scam to get the coin. When Doover says they’ll have to start all over again after they failed to get the coin, the woman posing as Sarah refused to go through with it again. That night, while sitting in Pogue’s car outside his office, the woman reveals into one of Pogue’s recorders that she’s really Beth Holly, whom Doover had hired because of her resemblance to Novak. Cornell’s men then kidnap Beth when they see her in the car.
Thursday morning, Cornell, who’s figured out that Pogue has the coin, abducts Pogue and takes hum to his home, where he attempts to torture him to give up the coin. Pogue and Holly escape, and rush to Cornell’s trial. During the trial, Pogue falls back in his chair and hits his head, then suddenly regains his memory. He tells Beth that he put the coin in a parking meter and she speeds off to get it. Pogue then gives his testimony against Cornell, which prompts Cornell to change his plea in the case. Pogue finds Sarah back at his apartment and the story ends when the two kiss and go inside.
REVIEW:
Apparently, Dana Carvey movies are they key to special memories/moments in my life. If you will recall, a few months back, when I reviewed Master of Disguise, I mentioned that it held a special place in my heart as I saw it in one of the last drive-in theaters. Well, Clean Slate has a similar link to my past, as this was the first film I took a date to see.
With that thought, let me just say that when I first saw this film, I didn’t pay too much attention to it. Seriously, I was a high school junior on a date with a hot majorette. Do you honestly think I was paying attention to what was happening on the screen?
Years later, though, I finally have decided to check this film out and actually watch it this time. To be perfectly honest with you, I’m glad I didn’t watch it the first time and sort of wish I didn’t watch it this time.
I have to mention this about the plot. The whole amnesia thing where everyday he wakes up and forgets everything from the day before sounds a bit too much like 50 First Dates (or vice-versa), if you ask me. I think that is one of the reasons that I couldn’t get invested in the film. I was thinking too much of Drew Barrymore’s character from that film.
Having said that, the amnesia angle is the best part of the plot. Everything else just seems like it was written to showcase Carvey and everyone else just has to smile and nod. Even while doing that, it does him no justice.
Don’t get me wrong, the story itself could have worked. Perhaps if they would have set it in the 30s or 40s and made this a film noir comedy akin to Johnny Dangerously (speaking generally as having a comedy set in that era, of course).
The romance angle could have gone somewhere interesting, especially with her supposedly being dead, and the other woman with the handcuffs and whatnot, but the filmmakers chose not to see where that would have led. On one hand, I’m glad, but on the other, I have to say I am intrigued to know where this all would have led.
Judging by the cast of this flick, you’d think it would have worked, but it just doesn’t. Dana Carvey was supposed to be a huge star after leaving Saturday Night Live, but that just didn’t happen. If ever he questions why not, then he need look no further than this film. Carvey is best known for his impression and quirky demeanor. Neither of which are on display here. At least in Master of Disguise, he did what he was known for.
Valeria Golino is not a leading lady. She would have worked much better as the other woman, played by Olivia d’Abo, and vice-versa. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Golino, but she just didn’t sell me on this role.
Michael Gambon, who is currently best known as Dumbledore, really surprised me with this turn as a villain. Of course, the whole no thumbs thing makes me go back to my suggestion that this film should have been set in the 30s or 40s. That would have been perfectly explained as some gangster cut them off, rather than that lame story about his father.
Kevin Pollack and James Earl Jones make interesting additions to the cast, but both seem to be a bit out-of-place, especially Jones, who does nothing more than ride around in a wheelchair with a neck brace on for the few scenes he is in.
The verdict on Clean Slate is this…if you have a clean slate about this picture before watching it, then leave it that way. There really is no reason to waste your time, unless you’re just a die-hard Dana Carvey fan, and even for that group I would find it hard to recommend this. While not totally horrible, Clean Slate fails to deliver where it matters most, the department of being an entertaining, enjoyable comedy. For that reason, and the reason alone, I have to say stay away.
2 out of 5 stars
