Copycat

1995's Copycat is more notable for its casting of two female leads, neither relegated to a romantic interest, while still relying on the typical Hollywood serial killer script complete with plot holes and an absurd final act. Sigourney Weaver stars as former serial killer expert Dr. Helen Hudson who goes into seclusion after nearly being killed by the disturbed Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr.) following on of her lectures. Sometime later, having noticed a pattern in a series of killings around San Francisco, the agorophobic Helen reaches out to the police with her theory.

Filling the other lead role is Holly Hunter as Inspector MJ Monahan (originally written as a man) who gives credence to Helen's theories despite blowback from the department. Together the odd couple will eventually solve the crimes of a copycat killer (William McNamara) recreating kills from famous serial killers throughout history, in part, to push Helen out of her seclusion and into harm's way.

While ths script is pretty standard stuff, Copycat would work easily paired as a double feature with something like The Bone Collector or Kiss the Girls, Weaver and Hunter give strong performances and the framing of two women, facing some added challenges of sexism and toxic masculinity, offers a different lens with which to view the events. That's enough to give the film a chance, and I'm glad to have watched the film, although I don't think Copycat offers enough to come back to for repeated viewings (especially given the glut of similarly-flawed films from the genre).

• Title: Copycat
• IMDb: link