“Shadow of Fear” (NOTE THE TIME CHANGE THIS WEEK – THIS MOVIE WILL AIR AT 12:05!)

This film stars James Spader. He’s such a dominant personality that more than likely he’s the whole show here, or at least most of the show.

Spader came up with those “brat pack” actors in the ‘80s but in that context he never really fit in. He always came off smarter than his years (and peers), and sometimes a bit smug. Not good for magazines like Tiger Beat.

Eventually, everyone has to grow up, including high-profile high schoolers (even if most of them were out of high school when they hit the big time). Then the school of hard knocks kicks in, and most realize they can no longer trade off on whatever youthful eccentricity got them through a dozen John Hughes movies. Since Spader was already aping an (admittedly irresponsible) adult in his characterizations, the transition out of Hughes-land was smoother for him than most.

The character that most clearly defines the personality type Spader often plays is of course Alan Shore, originally one of several strong personalities from “The Practice” but now clearly the front-and-center star of “Boston Legal.” And I say that with no disrespect intended toward co-stars Candice Bergen or the irrepressible William Shatner. The fact is, Shore is the only character the show cannot survive without, in my opinion. He is the glue. I think the ever-rotating supporting cast of that show attests to that fact.

The Alan Shore character has made such a strong impression that Spader became the first actor ever to win a Lead Actor Emmy® for portraying the same character on two different series. Ed Asner won twice for playing Lou Grant on both the eponymously-titled drama and on the classic comedy, ”The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” but his win for “MTM” came in the Supporting Actor category (and while we’re shuttling roles and numbers around, Asner has incidentally played two different judges on “Boston Legal”).

The roots of the Alan Shore character can be found in earlier Spader characters. As Steff in ”Pretty in Pink,” he essayed a new kind of school bully: the suit-wearing Yuppie bully. Just three years later he portrayed a sleazy “documentary” filmmaker coaxing women to do sexually revealing interviews in ”Sex, Lies and Videotape.” A year later, under the ”Bad Influence” of Rob Lowe, Spader’s Michael character rapidly progressed into slimeball-ness.

But it is his hysterical performance in an episode of “Seinfeld” that really showcased the perfect gelling of sleaziness with intensity and a knowing wit, and perhaps more than the above roles is really the blueprint for the Alan Shore character. I encourage you to click on the above link to see a condensation of that episode focusing strictly on Spader’s character’s storyline.

This leads to tonight’s movie, “Shadow of Fear.” When a young man accidentally murders someone, he finds himself entrenched in a “secret society” of people whose crimes could ruin them. It’s never a good idea to join a secret society, because then they’ve got the goods on you and how do you know you can trust them? It’s even worse if that society is run by Spader. Clearly, the accidental murderer never saw any of Spader’s work before. If only he had read this post first, he would have never joined up!

As needless as it seems to provide a backup cast that’s more than merely adequate when you've got someone as formidible as Spader at the controls, this film actually does deliver a great selection of supporting players. You’ve got Aidan Quinn as a detective, Peter Coyote as a congressman, Alice Krige as the congressman’s wife and Robin Tunney and Lacey Chabert as... well, I’m not sure exactly what their roles are but I’m sure they look cute playing those parts. You can imdb all of the above for their filmographies... they all have extensive bodies of work.

To reiterate, despite game support, this is clearly Spader’s show. And I’m not just playing favorites because he shares The Phantom’s birthday.

I mentioned the time change for this Sunday’s movie. Due to the NBA basketball playoffs, the late news will start later and consequentially so shall The Late Movie (making it the late Late movie). Channel 7 will start the movie at 12:05 instead of the usual 11:35. And that really makes it Monday's movie.

View the trailer here:

visit videodetective.com for more info

Or watch the entire movie on WABC-TV Channel 7 on Sunday, June 8th (wait, make that MONDAY MORNING, June 9th) at 12:05 AM… if you dare!