User reviews

"Small Town Killers", the eighth feature film by Danish writer-director Ole Bornedal, suffers from a somewhat weak script, but it has a nicely weird and cynical tone and Ulrich Thomsen and Nicolas Bro make a charming pair of friends.

What happened to Ole Bornedal?

The failure is even worse, considering the four main actors are actually very competent.

Skip this one.

This is one of the worst movies I have seen. It is not funny at all but extremely boring. The actors are well known but play like it was a school play. Don't waste your time on this movie.

In most horror movies, namely slashers, sex kills. In dark comedies, it's the opposite.

Wow. I kinda thought I might enjoy this experience, but had no idea how much I'd admire this film and writing. Don't think I've seen too many films from this country, but I'm definitely open-minded to other Area's art. And the more and more I discover, the more I see the world's kicking Hollywood's ass.

The synopsis isn't very easy this time around, which has to be the sign of a well-made movie. But, I'll try. Without spoiling too much, of course. There's a lot to discover and have fun with here.

Two not-so-great Danes are unhappy (pay attention to that point) due to lack of sex from their wives and consider divorce so they can somehow run off and have happy sex lives with different women. But, apparently unbeknownst to them and very known to their wives, their huge net worth comes into play with the women vowing to take more than their share in the proposed divorce. So, why not hire a hitman from Russia to kill them and then go off to live a nice, sex life elsewhere. What could possibly go wrong?

Literally, I just described 5% of the movie. It's basically Denmark's version of a Simon Pegg/Nick Frost screwball, albeit dark, comedy. Some might call it theft, I see it as an homage and someone putting their heart into honoring two obvious heroes of theirs.

I'm getting used to reading subtitles as the bulk of my films I see now are foreign (from the USA,) but dang it, these people spoke too fast! Before I could finish reading the statements below, they were onto their next quote. Mercifully, I could eventually follow both the words and the action/comedy and a good fourth was in English from the people called into to take care of their problems. (Yeah, people. It gets complicated and yet, all works well together.)

It covers a lot of ground, meaning, it's offensive to many cultures and types of people, but not necessarily going overboard or solving anything. Its heart is fine and the comedic moments made me laugh out loud more than a dozen or so times. Definitely recommended.

***

Final thoughts: Nicolas Bro aka Nick Frost was probably my favorite of the characters (next to Igor, the Russian Stereotype Hitman) and his refusal to shave in the later part of the movie (you'll see) had me rolling. I was just sad that more of his comedic talent didn't show up until then.

This is a dark quirky comedy taking place in a rural area of Denmark, very much in the style of Blinkende Lygter/Flickering Lights (2000) and Adams Æbler/Adam's Apples (2005).

In many of the scenes we follow either one or the other of two pairs of actors. The husbands pair are two friends and colleagues played Ulrich Thomsen and Nicolas Bro. Their wives played by Mia Lyhne and Lene Maria Christensen make up the other team. They are supported well by Marcin Dorocinski, Søren Malling and Gwen Taylor as well as Elsebeth Steentoft, Birthe Neumann and Ole Thestrup in smaller roles.

At just 86 minutes playing time it has a very fitting length for a comedy and is one of those movies I really can't find any fault with. It turned out to be exactly the kind of movie it advertises to be. I really enjoyed it and was well entertained all the way through and had some really good laughs on the way.

Good job Ole Bornedal, you're almost forgiven for the 1864 TV-series!

8/10

This brilliant film is among my top unforgettable comedy flicks as I've seen it 6 times over the course of 7 years with different circle of friends. Each time it got us rolling up in laughter. Acting performances of entire ensemble is mesmerizing and legendary actors Ulrich Thomsen and Nicholas Bro are outstanding. Character buildup is colourfully multi layered and all characters are adorable, heartwarming. I'll recommend it as an instant non-pharmaceutical pick-me-up.

Hard to comprehend all the harsh negative comments. Exceptional writing and direction so kudos to the master behind the marvel, Mr. Ole Bornedal.