Burglar

Burglar may not be one of Whoopi Goldberg's best outings, but it does offer her several opportunities to cut loose as a comedian. She plays a bookshop owner with a shady past who is being blackmailed by a crooked cop and must perform one last heist. Naturally, everything goes wrong and a handsome lothario winds up dead. Whoopi must find his murderer before the police find her. There are a couple of unexpected twists to this formulaic tale though Hugh (First Wives Club) Wilson's direction can't always navigate the tonal shifts between comedy and murder mystery. But Whoopi holds it all together with strong assistance from a stellar cast including Bob Goldthwait, John Goodman, Anne DeSalvo, and Lesley Ann Warren. Goldthwait, who plays a dog groomer and Whoopi's wacked-out best friend, has several priceless moments featuring his squeaky-door crazy-man vocal delivery. Goodman and DeSalvo, both crackerjack comic actors, don't have nearly enough to do while Warren plays a curvaceous dentist and the ex-wife of the murder victim who seems to have suspect written all over her. --Richard Natale