***SPOILERS*** Overly plotted and totally confusing thriller that has assistant D.A David Carelli, David Caruso, on the hunt for those who brutally sliced up and murdered a serial blackmailer who got way over his head in those he was blackmailing.
Found cut to shreds in his mansion among his very expensive antiques, mostly from the Orient, Kyle Medford, Ron Ulsatd, sleazy and secret life as a master blackmailer hit the front pages of the local as well as national newspapers. It's Corelli who takes a very personal interest in Medford's murder only because his ex-girlfriend Trina Gavin, Linda Fiorentino,was one of the last persons to see him alive. This doesn't sit well with Trina's husband high powered defense attorney Matt Gavin, Chazz Palminteri,who feels that Corelli is using Medford's murder in making a play for his wife. Soon we find out it's Trina not Corelli who's making all the plays which involves the late Kyle Medford's home away from home on the Pacific Coast. It's there where Medford ran a prostitution ring, right out of his beach front house, that he used to attract very important people in the state to engage in. Getting the goods on the unsuspecting John's Medford would film them in action and use the photos and video tapes to blackmail them.
The movies disjointed storyline has Corelli uncover a plot to blackmail the states top executive Governor Gov. Lew Edwards, Richard Crenna, by having him photographed in action with a hooker at Medford's beach house. When Corelli finally tracks down the hooker who "The Gov" was partying with-Patrice Jacinto played by Angie Evenhart-she clams up and refuses to give him anything but her name and occupation. Slowly putting the pieces together Corelli soon realizes that there was a lot more going on then just simple blackmail! It's murder for both power and profit on the highest order. And possibly Even higher then the governor of the state of California himself! And it's Corelli, by sticking his nose into the matter, who's next on the killer or killer's hit list!
The film "Jade" was so badly mishandled by its director William Friedkin that its screenwriter Joe Eszterhas tried to get his name off the movie's credits. As for the film's star David Caruso it ended his promising, after the far more superior "Kiss of Death", movie career and had him slip back into where he came from doing TV police shows.
The movie did have an exciting car chase all over the streets docks and at one point smashing through a Chinese Parade in the Chinatown Section of San Francisco that reminded me of that legendary car cases that Friedkin directed in "The French Connection". There was also a number of X-rated scenes between Tria and Mr. Green, Robin Thomas, who was one of the blackmail victims at the late Kyle Medford's retreat. It was in these scenes, recovered from an almost destroyed video tape, that showed Tria's real connection to Medford and it wasn't ,like she said, a casual one. In fact Trina was hooking for Medford in getting him people high up in government, and business, to be blackmailed by him.
***SPOILERS*** In the end it was no surprise to anyone watching, except Corelli and the SFPD, who in fact did old man Medford in since the evidence was there before his body turned room temperature. But it took a full confession by Medford's unsuspecting killer, that Corelli illegally audio taped, for Corelli to finally crack the puzzling case.
