Double Whammy

I was surprised last night when I saw the poster for this one at Blockbuster. Being a big Steve Buscemi fan, I try to keep up on his work but I must have missed this one somewhere. Denis Leary and Elizabeth Hurley were also top-billed so I decided to take it home. Once it was all said and done, I had gotten pretty much what I had expected: An offbeat comedy with quirky characters and some unexpected touches of heart. I can't say I care much for the title, but the movie does make for a pretty entertaining 90 minutes.

Denis Leary plays the somewhat burnt-out detective, Ray Pluto, who has just failed to stop a big shooting from going down at a local fast food joint. It's a mess, to say the least, and it doesn't help that the crime was stopped by a dorky seven year old kid with coke bottle glasses. This disgrace, and a bad back problem (which was the cause for the said fast food incident) has forced him to take a little time off, where he meets up with a sexy chiropractor played by none other than Liz Hurley.

Meanwhile, we meet the Superintendent of Ray's apartment building (Luis Guzman who's great as ever), the super's teenage daughter, a couple of identically dressed, bumbling screenwriters, and a couple of crooks who are even dumber. Since the whole thing moves at a nice leisurely pace, we learn that Ray is not the luckiest guy in the world. He recently lost his wife and son in a horrible accident and his big pleasure is to smoke pot and watch aerobic videos. His partner, Jerry (Buscemi) is having problems concerning his sexuality and the case that he was on has just been assigned to another detective. Not only does he have a recent tragedy to deal with, but also a bad back and a ruined reputation to restore.

While watching all of the fun characters, you can be sure that they will all cross paths sooner or later, and somehow, everything will tie together in the end. I had a fun time with this one and surprisingly, one particularly emotional scene near the end, brought a tear to my eye. That's very surprising for a movie like this. If you're not a fan of the actors or the genre, then you may have a hard time with it, but if oddball characters are your thing, then you'll be right at home. 8/10

Denis Leary plays Raymond Pluto, a detective fallen from grace after his bad back causes him to fail preventing a fast-food shooting. Worse yet, a nerdy seven-year old kid saves the day. Now Pluto, along with his partner (Buscemi) and his chiropractor(Hurley), is searching for redemption. And, with the help of a pair of inept screenwriters and some unscrupulous gang members, Pluto may save the day yet...or die trying. The unique cast works towards the film's strengths, as do the wry comedy, but the film's obvious low budget hinders it from achieving it's obvious potential. Still, it's a lot more enjoyable than most of the mainstream stuff that Hollywood is trying to pass off as entertainment these days. Buscemi steals every scene he's in as he reveals problems with his sexual identity.

Just saw the film and I enjoyed how the layers were pulled back one at a time, until all the links were shown. I originally thought the unique characters of Cletis and Duke were there just to add flavor, but then they turned out to be more vital. And the understated approach of not stating outright that Jo Jo and Ping Pong were being hired to kill "Papi" left me feeling that the movie did not take our intelligence for granted, but assumed that the viewer is smart enough to figure it out. Denis Leary is funny, but I liked the supporting cast just as much. Without them, this funny comedy would have been pretty flat.

Oh, and what is with Duke looking and sounding like Vanilla Ice?? Even to the shaved eyebrows and the slicked up hair :)

Ray Pluto (Denis Leary) is a detective with a problem due to the lost of his wife and daughter. One day, he is in a fast food place, and due to a pain in his back, he is not able to avoid a massive murderer of six persons. A young boy uses his gun and kills the killer. He becomes a loser in the eyes of the police force and the public opinion and his partner (Steve Buscemi) convinces him to have a session with a chiropractor (Dr. Ann Beamer - the gorgeous and sexy Elizabeth Hurley). A complicated romance between them will grow. Meanwhile, at least two other plots happen, involving detective Pluto and other odd characters.

This movie is not totally bad, but it is impossible to label the genre. The screenplays 'shot ' everywhere: black comedy, drama, romance, and action, all of it mixed together. The result is very irregular, and there are parts enjoyable, other that could be skipped, other not resolved. It deserves to be watched at least once and is indicated for fans of the delicious Elizabeth Hurley, maybe. My vote is six.

Title(Brazil): "Um Policial em Apuros" ("A Policeman in Trouble")

To be honest, I wasn't really expecting much from this. The trailer made it out to be a poor Tarantino rip off, and I haven't exactly been blown away by Tom DiCillo's output in the past. However, all in all, it wasn't half bad. I thought the main plot line of Dennis Leary being made a public laughing stock was handled well. There's a nice in-joke where Elizabeth Hurley over reacts at people smoking in a restaurant whilst on a date with Dennis Leary, which anal nerds like me can pat themselves on the back for spotting. Also, it's nice to see Donald Faison(Turk from 'Scrubs') make the move on to the big screen, even if it is only a small independent comedy. Maybe I just enjoyed this because it's been so long since I've seen a good American comedy in the cinema, or maybe because I was expecting it to fall flat in it's face. And sure, it's not perfect. Hurley is as wooden as ever. The plot involving Luis Guzman's daughter having him killed is a little unbelievable, as the daughter is given very little motivation for this. Also, I understand that Leary's character getting off on a cheerleading video is meant to be light-hearted and humorous, but I found it a little degrading. Especially when it follows a completely gratuitous and unmotivated shot of a cheerleader's pants in the opening burger bar scene.

However, these are minor grumbles and this is, on a whole, a finely executed piece of work.