BEFORE: Went to another beer dinner last night, it's been a good year for them so far. Of the four restaurants I know in NYC that host them, 3 of them have been doing so on a near-monthly basis, so that's kept me rather busy, as well as torpedoed any plans to lose weight. So, a shorter film tonight.
From robbing safes to robbing a bank - and with some luck, Mark Wahlberg from "The Italian Job" was in a film called "Shooter" that co-starred Michael Peña (last seen in "Babel"), who appears in this film. Damn, he was also in "Tower Heist", which would have fit neatly in this chain, but I don't have a copy of that one yet.
THE PLOT: Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else...
AFTER: This film rode a delicate balance between action film and comedy film. You don't see a lot of action comedies, and I think I know why - it's very hard to ride that line and strike just the right tone. "The Other Guys", "Pineapple Express" - I can't think of too many other examples that didn't veer off into nutso parody like "Starsky & Hutch" did. But this one mostly managed it, though perhaps it could have been a little funnier, more in line with "Pineapple Express".
Movie heists are a bit like real-life weddings - something is bound to go wrong somewhere. Hopefully it's something little and they can shrug it off. Here we see what may be cinema's most awkward bank robbery, except maybe the one in "Dog Day Afternoon". But it's a little expected, with two non-career criminals/regular guys forced to steal, and their only reference for how to act probably would come from other bank robbery movies.
Again, we are presented with two sets of characters, and prompted to root for one group over the other. Here the choice is made more justifiably by showing that one group is roped into the heist against their will. That goes a long way, especially when the other group toggles between ruthless and clueless. But it's what happens after the wheels are set in motion that counts, and I think I'd have more respect for our everyman group if someone had made rational decisions, like going to the police, or finding a way to return what was stolen. Nope, once you engage in some criminal behavior, you might as well go all the way (apparently) and then try to outsmart the people with guns and bombs. This is America, and we let our weapons speak for us.
Agreed, the police in Grand Rapids were shown to be relatively ineffectual. And few people might make rational decisions when strapped to a bomb. But there are times when the presence of the bomb DOES focus our hero - it makes him realize what's important in life, and it also forces/frees him to think of some very innovative techniques for outsmarting the bad(der) guys. But it's too bad it didn't focus him enough to do the (most) right thing.
NITPICK POINT: Does any pizza place still offer the pies for free if not delivered within 30 minutes? I'm pretty sure Domino's, which popularized it, gave that guarantee up years ago. And a pizza restaurant that's not part of a larger chain probably couldn't afford to make such an offer. As seen here, too many smart-ass teens would call from a longer distance to increase their chances of getting free food.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg (last seen in "Adventureland"), Danny McBride (last heard in "Despicable Me"), Aziz Ansari (last seen in "I Love You, Man"), Nick Swardson (last heard in "Bolt"), Fred Ward.
RATING: 5 out of 10 ski masks
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