Greetings again from the darkness. These days, B-movies don't get the respect they deserve. In the age of massive, hundred million dollar (and more) budget blockbusters, the low-budget movies produced purely for entertainment purposes get brushed off as being undeserving of screen time. The truth is, the best ones are easy to watch ... and can be a fun way to while away the hours if, say, one is forced to stay in their home for an extended period of time. Writer-director-actor Jon Abrahams' movie fills this role just fine.
Mr. Abrahams (MEET THE PARENTS) and Mark Webber (GREEN ROOM) star as the Callahan brothers, Mickey and Jackie, respectively. These are the type of Irish brothers who only stop bickering long enough to wrestle each other to the ground. While most of their spats may be typical brother stuff, this latest involves Jackie's inept card playing, and the subsequent loss of the money they needed to pay back a mob loan shark. Missing this payment means Tony (Chazz Palminteri) assumes ownership of the Irish bar their late father opened, and it could mean even worse news for the brothers.
I would pay triple ticket price just to watch Chazz Palminteri chew scenery like he does here as Tony. When he makes the boys an offer they can't refuse, they end up in the basement of a house with Tony's son Joey (Michael Godere) telling them to shoot the man tied to a chair (another of Tony's loan customers). Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, and the next thing we know Mickey and Jackie are on the run with 13 year old Clover (Nicole Elizabeth Berger), dodging Tony's men, in addition to the 2 female assassins (Erika Christensen, TRAFFIC) and Julia Jones (WIND RIVER) they aren't even aware of!
As a quasi-framing device, we find Ron Perlman holed up in a fabulous mansion that we view with the film's opening aerial shot. Mr. Perlman is afforded his own chance to 'let loose' and emote like he's participating in an acting seminar ... while play-calling the wolf video running simultaneously. Other characters that cross paths with the brothers and Clover include Jackie's ex-girlfriend Angie (Jessica Szhor), a befuddling rescue 'scientist' played by Jake Weber, and a bar owner played by Tichina Arnold, who like Perlman and Palminteri, was clearly directed that it's not possible to go "too big" in a scene.
Humor, most of it pretty dark, is around every corner. A bowling pin has a use outside the lane, the lady assassins drive a car with a fitting sign, we are treated to a good old fashioned death scene, and there's a shootout accompanied by melodic jazz. As a cherry on top, the bar patron that the brothers leave in charge is Larry, played by the director's dad, Martin Abrahams. There is a definite 1970's vibe to the story and film, and we can't help but be a little disappointed when the conclusion does in fact, "end the chaos."
