MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Chasers’ Hits the Road for Naval Comedy

“Chasers” combines raucous humor and unflagging zest with considerable wit and sophistication as Yeoman Second-Class Eddie Devane (William McNamara), at the Charleston, S.C., naval base, finds himself assigned to Chief Petty Officer Rock Reilly (Tom Berenger) to drive to the marine brig at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and transport a prisoner back to Charleston.

Tough-guy, by-the-book Reilly, as gravel-voiced as George C. Scott’s Gen. Patton, sizes up the cocky Eddie as a “poster boy for petty crime”--little does he know just how well Devane has done for himself in the Navy Supply and Inventory Control. As mismatched as they are, they’re both floored when their prisoner, a seaman second-class, turns out to be beautiful and sexy Toni Johnson (Erika Eleniak). The return trip turns out to be a rip-roaring comic adventure.

Director Dennis Hopper has the anarchic spirit to make “Chasers” pay off, and writers Joe Batteer, John Rice and Dan Gilroy have provided him with a smart script, a deft mix of slapstick, sharp repartee and sentiment.

What’s shrewdest about the picture is that it waits till we get involved with this trio thoroughly before Toni’s explanation of the inevitable extenuating circumstances of her arrest.

The stars are really winning--even McNamara’s Eddie, crook that he is--and Hopper has lined up Gary Busey, Crispin Glover, Dean Stockwell, Frederic Forrest and Marilu Henner plus himself for nifty cameos. There’s a lot of screwball humor in “Chasers”’ classically amoral plot, yet adding to the film’s freshness is that visually it’s an affectionate running commentary on the amusing tackiness of roadside Americana.

* MPAA rating: R, for strong language and a scene of sexuality. Times guidelines: That scene of sexuality is quite steamy, plus there’s considerable nudity; adult themes.

‘Chasers’

Tom Berenger: Rock Reilly

William McNamara: Eddie Devane

Erika Eleniak: Toni Johnson

Gary Busey: Sgt. Vince Banger

A Warner Bros. release of a Morgan Creek production. Director Dennis Hopper. Producer James G. Robinson. Executive producer Gary Barber. Screenplay by Joe Batteer & John Rice and Dan Gilroy; story by Batteer & Rice. Cinematographer Ueli Steiger. Editor Christian A. Wagner. Costumes Michael Boyd. Music Dwight Yoakam, Pete Anderson. Production designer Robert Pearson. Art director Natalie Wilson. Set decorator Kate Sullivan. Running time: 1 hour, 41 minutes.

* In general release throughout Southern California.