Rating

It's a good

Brief Review

In order to find out who kidnapped his sister, Avery Chasten and his friends decide to persuade a former mobster to help track down who did the kidnapping and help get her back.

Story

Elise and Max had a Romeo and Juilet style of relationship (they were in love but their parents forbid it). One night Elise gets kidnapped and the kidnappers demand a ransom for her release. To help persuade her family to pay, they cut her finger off and send it to them, saying the longer it takes, the more of her body parts will be cut off. Avery (her brother), Max, and his friends, running out of options, come up with the plan to kidnap Charlie Barret (formerlly known as Carlo Bartolucci), a former mobster, and in order to convince him to help, do exactly to him what the kidnappers to do Elise, thereby helping himself by helping them.

What Was Good

The cast was great, the writing, though questionable and slow at times, held up throughout the movie, the comedic moments... Really, there isn't much bad I can say about this movie. The backgrounds of each character is well thought out and explained in ways that doesn't seem forced, more natural through the use of everyone telling stories from their pasts. Denis Leary as Lono was great and brought some emotional and funny moments, not to mention some of the best quotes from the movie. Henry Thomas did an amazing job with his role of Avery, especially towards the end, he really lets his emoitional acting come to the forefront.

What Was Bad

The biggest complaint I have is with the premise of the story. Who in their right minds would think that kidnapping a former mobster and cutting his finger off is a good way to solve your problem? Being able to suspend my disblief on the plot, the progression does seem slow at times. I'm really trying to think of things that were bad with the movie, but most of my complaints are either with certain characters acting (the blackjack dealer in vegas) or certain choice words used (Brett starting to tell a story about Charlie "Jump in any time"). I guess I could say that Jay Mohr isn't good at crying and that was a bit unbelievable. Or, Charlie was a bit too friendly with those who kidnapped him, though, I that could be said it's a way of staying alive.

Final Thoughts

This is a solid crime story/who done it. People who won't like this movie are those that hate dialog rich movies and harsh language. But, if you want to see one of my favorite characters portrayed by Christopher Walken, and a good who-done-it that still holds up today, give it a watch.