I can see why this movie gets so many different reactions. It's full of odd plot line decisions and strange pacing, likely to confuse as many people as it excites. For me, it's two main flaws were the way it was written, almost like two 45 minute shorts spliced together, and the fact that it ends abruptly in an unsatisfying manner.

However, the fact that it ends in such an unsatisfactory manner comes largely from how it gripped me up to that ending. This movie is saved by an utterly convincing turn from Fairuza Balk. Together with Robert Forster as a lunatic doctor obsessed with chance, she drags the movie out of the 'okay for a quick watch psycho-thriller' rut it was so obviously heading into without her.

As the sister of the doctor's last victim, who winds up riding cross county with him, all the while unaware of her sister's body shoved in his trunk, Balk is riveting. In all honesty I can't think of a movie off the top of my head she wasn't good in, and she saves the film.

However, in the event you don't enjoy the interplay between her and Forster, there may not be too much in this film for you. Also worth noting is the fact that Balk is not introduced until halfway through the movie, meaning that you could lose interest before she turns up.

Basically, I enjoyed this movie a lot once it got going, but the first half is really just setup, and pretty slow setup at that. However, the second half of the movie is very good, even if it does end in a way that doesn't really explain much of anything. This is a loosely plotted oddity that is saved by excellent turns from it's leads. If you watch without expecting miracles, I'm sure you'll have a good enough time with it.

A remarkable film that captures what it is like to suffer from obsessive compulsivity and blossoming insanity. As a psychologist, I can verify that Forster plays his role to perfection, capturing the confusion of his character, a confusion that only the one time chance flip of a coin can correct.

The cast is all star and very good performances are turned in by Balk, Plummer, Sorvino and Gleason, especially by Sorvino of the long suffering sheriff.

As a road picture/slice of life film, this excels. See it and note the verbal and nonverbal characteristics of the Forster character. This film is a winner at all levels.

"American Perfekt" is a lukewarm psychodrama which spends its run time on a four travelers of questionable character bound by circumstance and highway in an arid Nevada desert. A slow starter, the film requires a whole lot of faith to get into and a broad attention span to stick with. However, for viewers who can suspend disbelief at the drop of a body part, "American Perfekt" may prove captivating. An okay no-brainer now on cable. (C)