Eddie Fleming: Robert De Niro	Jordy Warsaw: Edward Burns
Emil: Karel Roden	Oleg: Oleg Taktarov
Madam: Charlize Theron	Leon: Avery Brooks
Daphne: Vera Farmiga	Mugger: David Allen Grier
Nicky: Melina Kanakaredes	TV producer: Kim Cattrall
Director: John Herzfeld	Robert Hawkins: Kelsey Grammer

30 Second Bottom Line: A NYC homicide detective uses the TV news media to solve crimes, while becoming a celebrity in the process. When two criminals from Eastern Europe go on a crime spree, hoping to sell the videotape they are making of their sins to the TV networks, we are provided with an introspective look at how the media tries to manipulate us and how we permit it.

Story Line: Robert De Niro plays a hot shot detective named Eddie Fleming, who is best buddies with a well known TV news anchor, Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer). They feed off of each other. Eddie basks in the glory of his notoriety and Robert gets the blood and guts stories he needs to have the highest rated news show...and the fame that he pretends to reluctantly enjoy.

Robert's news producer is Cassandra (Kim Cattrall), who makes it clear that the pressure is always on to produce pieces that merit being the lead story. To get the necessary material, Hawkins often tags along with Eddie on real crime busts, with his TV crew there to catch the live action as it happens. This is true reality TV.

Emil and Oleg (Karel Roden and Oleg Taktarov) have just arrived in the United States, after release from a European prison, to collect money from a former partner in crime. Oleg is fascinated by reality TV in America and he steals a video camera to record their exploits. They go to the apartment of their former accomplice, who fled to the U.S., while they went to jail. When they learn that all of the stolen money has been spent, Emil kills him and tries to cover it up by starting a fire. While the crime is being committed, Oleg is filming the entire event. Before they leave, they notice that a neighbor, Daphne (Verna Farmiga), has witnessed the murder. She escapes their chase, but they find a lead on her whereabouts at a dating service run by Charlize Theron.

Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns), a fire marshal, is called in to investigate the fire. He's assigned to work with Eddie because his chief wants the fire department to get some of the same press coverage that the police department has been receiving. Eddie plays a reluctant mentor, with Jordy tagging along. Things get personal as Eddie chases Emil and Oleg after they seriously injure his partner Leon (Avery Brooks).

While Eddie has all the courage in the world to chase bad guys, he has to practice his speech in the mirror to ask his girlfriend Nicky (Melina Kanakaredes) to marry him. She too is a news anchor, but of a higher caliber than Robert.

15 Minutes combines several elements, love story, crime drama and media satire. It takes a look at the risks that our police and fire fighters take to make our world safer, and at the need for balance between the law and civil rights. It touches just enough on all these subjects to make a conservative or a liberal not like certain aspects; so maybe, it hits home in areas that all of us could learn a little more about.

Tell Me More About It: The satire here is more effective than in the film Mad City, with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman, because it's not preachy. It classifies as over the top, but without the long-winded speeches.

Robert Hawkins is self serving; reminding us of Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings, in just how fast they can get to the site of the latest disaster and will tell you they are protecting the right of free speech by showing the grisly details. Whether the Oklahoma City bombing or the San Francisco earthquake, it's not good enough that the more than capable anchors in those cities could tell us. Nooooo…our millionaire boys and girls (mostly boys) must leave NYC and go "meet the people" where the action is.

There are some real surprises with respect to the relationship between Nicky and Eddie that show even Hollywood can break the mold and show some creativity. The two bad guys Emil and Oleg do a fantastic, though extreme, send up on shows like Jerry Springer. Of all the ways to get information about other people, this may be the easiest, yet most destructive. At a minimum it shows that one does not need the media to become crazy, it's just that the media allows another way of acting out.

In the make you smile category, we all know that the phrase "can't we all get along?" came from the riots in the Rodney King verdict. After Jordy violates the civil rights of a mugger (David Allen Grier), the mugger becomes very indignant and self-righteous as he looks us in the eye and tells the TV audience to "keep the love." You'd think he was a choirboy rather than a mugger. With a little media attention, and the right spin, the good can become the bad and the bad can become the good. You too can enjoy your fleeting brush with fame, if you can survive the onslaught, mole your way to success or use your lifelines to become a millionaire.

Robert De Niro: Meet The Parents	Edward Burns: Saving Private Ryan
Karel Roden: Hostage Train	Oleg Taktarov: Air Force One
Charlize Theron: Sweet November	Avery Brooks: American History X
Vera Farmiga: The Opportunists	David Allen Grier: Return to Me
Melina Kanakaredes: Providence-TV	Kim Cattrall: Sex and the City-TV
Kelsey Grammer: The Sports Page-TV	John Herzfeld: Ryan White Story-TV