Vic Cavanaugh and Charlie Arglist are a pair of friends who work for Bill Gerard, a mobster with his finger in a number of illegal businesses. Vic runs a pornography distribution outfit for Bill, while Charlie is a lawyer who keeps Bill and his partners out of jail, and between them, Vic and Charlie have stolen over two million dollars in cash from Bill. On Christmas Eve, Vic and Charlie plan to make off with their money and escape Bill's clutches once and for all, but while Vic stays cool and collected, an increasingly nervous Charlie stops off at a topless bar to fortify his courage with a few drinks, and ends up causing a scene with a dancer he's long had his eye on. It doesn't take long for word about Charlie to get back to Bill, who sends an enforcer out to track him down, but while Charlie tries to make tracks, he ends up having to look after his friend Pete, who is much more drunk than Charlie and even more inclined to make a nuisance of himself.
This film is listed as a "Comedy Drama", but there wasn't much that was funny (funniest line, "Ho f@#&in' ho"). In fact, it was more depressing than anything watching most of the characters stumble through the movie drunk, demoralized and despondent with a few lame jokes thrown in. The movie seemed to zip through (or skip) seemingly important background information about the characters in order to concentrate on boring conversations at restaurants and strip clubs. Then they would throw in awkward scenes (Christmas Eve dinner with Charlie's ex-wife and her family) that I suppose was an attempt to show how disfunctional most of the characters lives had become - we get it. Most of the plot twists could be seen coming from a mile away and the ending left a lot to be desired. The special features includes an alternate ending which has a flashback that shows the impetus for stealing the money and wraps the movie up nicer than the ending that was used. Overall, I didn't enjoy this big, gloomy pile of mush and was glad it was less than 90 minutes long.
Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton
I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.
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This movie had the same feel as "The Departed." Generally violent, pointless, and painfully slow story progression. And just like "The Departed," I found myself hoping that all characters would just die.
I knew Billy Bob Thornton would suck, but John Cusack wasn't much better, and that's surprising. They really shouldn't have worked together again after "Pushing Tin" anyway.
Rating: 1.5 of 5
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