History Film / BestSeller

* GoodGunsBadGuns: As befits a movie made before TheNineties, Meechum uses a snubnose .38 revolver while Cleve has a Beretta 9mm automatic.

After Officer Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) is nearly killed in an armed robbery at a police station in 1972, he becomes an esteemed non-fiction crime novelist. Fifteen years later, while going through a period of WritersBlock, he is approached by a mysterious man named Cleve (Woods), who wants Meechum to write about his life as a [[ProfessionalKiller hit man]] for powerful businessman David Madlock (Shenar).

After Officer Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) is nearly killed in an armed robbery at a police station in 1972, he becomes an esteemed non-fiction crime novelist. Fifteen years later while going through a period of WritersBlock, he is approached by a mysterious man named Cleve (Woods), who wants Meechum to write about his life as a [[ProfessionalKiller hit man]] for powerful businessman David Madlock (Shenar).

After Officer Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) is nearly killed in an armed robbery at a police station in 1972, he becomes an esteemed non-fiction crime novelist. Fifteen years later while going through a period of WritersBlock, he is approached by a mysterious man named Cleve (Woods), who wants Meechum to write about his life as a [[ProfessionalKiller hitman]] for powerful businessman David Madlock (Shenar).

[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/01d6e40408d8058d3717640636ec4ec3.jpg]]

->'''Cleve:''' Corporations deal in two things, period -- assets and liabilities. I removed the liabilities.

''Best Seller'' is a 1987 crime thriller starring Creator/BrianDennehy and Creator/JamesWoods.

After Officer Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) is nearly killed in an armed robbery at a police station in 1972, he becomes an esteemed non-fiction crime novelist. Fifteen years later while going through a period of WritersBlock, he is approached by a mysterious man named Cleve (Woods), who wants Meechum to write down Cleve's life story, as a [[ProfessionalKiller hitman]] for powerful businessman David Madlock.

* CuffsOffRubWrists: Cleve does this trope after Meechum (briefly) arrests him.

* YouGotSpunk: Cleve tells Meechum he has BallsOfSteel after he's stabbed during the robbery.

** Cleve shows Meechum where he buried a rifle used for a murder. When the rifle is said to be useless as evidence because the bore has rusted, Cleve thinks Madlock had the rifle tampered with, which Meecham derides as a UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheory. Turns out Madlock really does have that much influence, when two uniformed policeman pick up Holly and bring her to him.

* TheCharmer: Despite Cleve and Meechum being complete strangers, Cleve talks an old lady in New York into letting them enter her house and walk around in private, so he can show Cleve how he committed a murder there years before.

* RevealingInjury: The film opens with a masked robbery, during which one of the robbers is shown to have CigaretteBurns on his wrist, and gets stabbed by the protagonist Meechum. Years later Meechum is approached by a man claiming to have been the driver on that robbery. However when the man burns his wrist in a display of MachoMasochism, Meechum rips open his shirt to reveal the scar.

%% * ClusterFBomb: Meechum after Pearlman is stupid enough to threaten him inside a police station.

%% * DispenseWithThePleasantries: Meechum with Madlock.

%% * GoodCopBadCop: Meechum and Cleve play this a couple of times.

* NotSoDifferent: Cleve is always suggesting this to Meechum, who does eventually admit that he likes him. In the end however Meechum arrests Madlock rather than killing him.

* FamousLastWords
-->'''Cleve:''' Remember, I'm TheHero.