Clean Slate

Clean Slate is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Mick Jackson. The film stars Dana Carvey as a private investigator who is the key witness in a murder case. After suffering a head injury, however, he has developed a rare form of amnesia that causes him to forget anything that happened to him the previous day, which makes it hard for him to know whom to trust, or if he even knows them at all. Valeria Golino, James Earl Jones, Michael Murphy, Michael Gambon, Bryan Cranston, and Kevin Pollak co-star. Plot Maurice Pogue has retrograde amnesia, a form of amnesia that prevents him from remembering anything that happened to him the day before. He realizes from a recording he made for himself the previous night (Sunday) – to keep himself in the know – that he is a private investigator in Los Angeles, and acquired the condition after being injured during a case. Pogue tells himself not to reveal his condition to anyone, as he is the key witness in the case against the man responsible for his amnesia. Appearing on the recording is a strange woman, Sarah Novak, who informs him she has been living under the alias Beth Holly in San Francisco, and she has come to L.A. because she is being blackmailed. The police then come to Pogue's office, and take him to what turns out to be his birthday party. He tells his friend Dolby that he's seen Sarah, and learns from Dolby that Sarah is dead. While at the party, Pogue also meets Anthony Doover, his doctor – the only person who knows of Pogue's condition. Two henchmen take him from the party to meet Philip Cornell, the man Pogue is to testify against. Cornell offers Pogue a large sum of money to deny witnessing Cornell's involvement in the crime. On re-examining his files at the office, Pogue learns that Sarah was once Cornell's lover, who decided to testify against Cornell lest he kill her because of her knowledge of his illegal activities. Sarah hired Pogue to protect her but was killed by a car bomb, the same bomb that caused his amnesia. That night, Pogue meets Sarah at a fashion show she is modeling in. She tells him the girl that was killed in the explosion was a double, and that someone is threatening to tell Cornell she is still alive. Sarah also tells Pogue about a valuable coin Cornell stole from the L.A. County Museum, which she in turn stole from him. Sarah tells Pogue that she gave him the coin the morning before the explosion; Pogue cannot remember.