Disjointed `Internal Affairs' Shoots From The Hip But Misses Mark

XX ``Internal Affairs,'' with Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, Laurie Metcalf, Richard Bradford, William Baldwin. Directed by Mike Figgis, from a script by Henry Bean. Aurora Village, City Centre, Crossroads, Factoria, Grand Cinemas Alderwood, Oak Tree, Parkway Plaza, SeaTac Mall Cinemas. ``R'' - Restricted, due to violence, nudity, language.

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Everyone's in heat in ``Internal Affairs,'' a new psychological cop thriller with sex on the brain.

The introductory scenes are so casually erotic that it's difficult to get your bearings. A Los Angeles street cop (Richard Gere) slaps and then caresses his partner (William Baldwin); they spend so much time butting heads and staring into each other's eyes they appear to be lovers.

Minutes later, the Baldwin character is aggressively hugging an old police academy chum (Andy Garcia) who, he soon discovers, is in the process of investigating him for unwarranted brutality.

As it turns out, the only gay character is Garcia's partner, played in an endearingly sardonic style by ``Roseanne'' regular Laurie Metcalf, who stares slyly at other women and talks dirty with the few policemen who will give her the time of day. It's the only enjoyable performance in this overwrought mishmash.

``Most of the cops hate our guts,'' she tells Garcia as they grill Baldwin and threaten him with suspension, then decide to go after Gere. They suspect he's guilty of much more than brutality, but they haven't yet guessed the extent of the problem they've uncovered.

Up until this point, ``Internal Affairs'' is entertaining and occasionally funny in a lurid sort of way. Then Garcia loses his cool - smashing furniture, making a jealous speech to his wife, slapping her around in a crowded restaurant and getting smashed in a Mexican dive - and the movie itself goes totally berserk.

There's so much blood, sweat and craziness that you stop laughing with first-time screenwriter Harry Bean's script and begin laughing at it. Long before it reaches the fever pitch of a hysterical finale, you may also find yourself looking at your watch.

``Internal Affairs'' was directed by Mike Figgins, the talented British filmmaker who made the steamy Melanie Griffith/Sting melodrama, ``Stormy Monday.'' Produced by Paramount Pictures, it's his first American movie, and the hyper, exotic style and Garcia's presence immediately recall Paramount's most recent high-concept thriller, ``Black Rain.'' Is this Paramount's new house style? And can any director escape it?