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The alarmist

Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Don't be alarmed... they're professionals!

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Tommy Hudler (David Arquette) has landed a sales job: selling alarm systems for Grigoris Home Security Systems under the guidance of mentor Heinrich Grigoris (Stanley Tucci).

Tommy cannot believe his luck when he takes his butter-wouldn't-melt-in-his-mouth to Widow Gales' (Kate Capshaw) home and manages to do more than just sell an alarm system.

However, his natural abilities at selling paranoia do not last and Tommy hits a bit of a dry spell. To encourage sales, Heinrich begins to involve Tommy in a few schemes to promote good word of mouth; like deliberately setting off alarm systems which they have previously installed.

While initially going along with the plan, Tommy begins to suspect that Heinrich is responsible for burglaries that have occurred in several houses where he has previously performed his sales pitch.

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film crime loser comedy romance alarm system burglary robber

Persons of interest

Keith Reddin .... Playwright
Evan Dunsky .... Screenwriter
Evan Dunsky .... Director

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

The alarmist is one of those slightly weird films that takes you on a twisty, turny ride into slightly weird (but entirely normal) people's lives. Like A simple plan. Perhaps "slightly weird (but entirely normal) people" is a metaphor for white trash.

I like white trash. In the movies, that is. In real life I can't get far enough away from them.

Anyhoo, the slightly weird but entirely normal David is pretty normal but at the same time slightly weird in The alarmist. I don't remember seeing him in anything else, so I can't judge if those weird facial expressions are part of the character or part of the actor. Not that he doesn't act well, he does, very well in fact, but it's a bit like watching Barbra Streisand sing (you know, her mouth never seems to stay still, even when she's singing the same note). But he does do white trash butter wouldn't melt very well.

Stanley is perfectly adequate, perhaps a little clichéd, but that only serves to highlight David's performance (he said generously). Kate is the opposite of both of them, being very subtle in her performance ("How demented can a housewife be?" he asked sarcastically). The only problem with Kate's role was figuring out why the character suddenly got rude at Tommy's parent's house. I realise that she was upset about the age thing and had a few drinks too many, but it all happened a little too quickly, too easily to be acceptable. Maybe something got left on the cutting room floor.

This is a very entertaining, very funny and slightly weird flick which takes some very good shots at modern working class American society (including TV, personal security, sales and guns (Where did Tommy get that gun from?). If you're into the slightly unusual, then this is a great film. If you're into Jane Austen, then go read a book.

Security censorship classification

M (Sexual references, medium level coarse language, medium level violence)

Surveillance time

91 minutes (1:31 hours)

Not for public release in Australia before date

VHS rental: 15 September 1999