Plot
After he accidentally kills his father, Mike, during a sting, Joe tries to carry out Mike's dying...
Release Year: 1993
Rating: 3.8/10 (1,436 voted)
Director:
Christopher Coppola
Stars: Michael Biehn, Sarah Trigger, Nicolas Cage
Storyline After he accidentally kills his father, Mike, during a sting, Joe tries to carry out Mike's dying wish by recovering valuables that Mike's twin brother Lou stole from him years earlier. But Uncle Lou is also a confidence artist, and Joe is soon drawn into his increasingly dangerous schemes.
Writers: Christopher Coppola, Nick Vallelonga
Cast: Michael Biehn
-
Joe Donan
Sarah Trigger
-
Diane
Nicolas Cage
-
Eddie
James Coburn
-
Mike Donan
/
Lou Donan
Peter Fonda
-
Pete
Charlie Sheen
-
Morgan "Fats" Gripp
Talia Shire
-
Sam
J. Kenneth Campbell
-
Huey
Michael Constantine
-
Frank
Marc Coppola
-
Bob
Micky Dolenz
-
Bart
Brian Donovan
-
Mitch
Renée Estevez
-
Baby's Babe
Ted Fox
-
Zane
Clarence M. Landry
-
Larry
(as Clarence Landry)
Taglines:
You wont know who to trust... What to believe... Or where to run...
Release Date: 8 October 1993
Filming Locations: Los Angeles, California, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $10,000,000
(estimated)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
Argentina:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Nicolas Cage came onto the set dressed up with a wig, albino contact lenses and dark sunglasses because he thought this would add more authenticity to the character of two-bit hustler, Eddie. Cage was told that he could dress up however he wanted for his part.
User Review
I started to trade it off, but I had to keep it because I feared people wouldn't believe my description of it!
Rating:
This movie sashays between an attempt at modern noir, an homage to film
noir, and a parody of film noir.
I like Michael Biehn, but unfortunately his voice-over narration comes off
rather flat. Some of the noir dialogue just falls on the floor and lies
there -- I had to rewind to believe that I actually heard the line: "That
was the thing that would send me into the darkness, squinting at clues."
Nick Cage's character is certainly a standout. I think the excesses of the
character are supposed to be funny. However, Cage not only takes Eddie over
the top but down the other side -- he chews up the scenery, digests it, and
poops it out right there in front of you. For some reason he seems to think
the character should always be on the edge of having a seizure. The
cumulative effect for me is to flinch from the thought of ever again seeing
him in a film. Really. Like aversion therapy. Say "Nick Cage" and I will
think of him drooling and choose another film.
And the film suddenly veers off into an Italian James Bond rip-off! I
thought for a moment they had gotten reels mixed up with another movie... In
a stylish secret lair (behind a billiard parlor) we meet Angus Scrimm (the
Tall Man from "Phantasm") as "Dr. Lyme", the man obsessed with diamonds.
Crystals are everywhere, his female henchmen are decked out in big blobby
crystal jewelry, the furniture is designed with crystalline angles. He comes
complete with a Dr. No suit, a Sidney Greenstreet growl, and -- get this! --
a metal arm with a sharp shiny lobster-claw hand! No fooling. My jaw
dropped. At least he wasn't stroking a cat.
Throw in Charlie Sheen as a suave pool hustler, and Mickey Dolenz and
Clarence Williams III (!) as sidekicks, and you have quite a stew. Peter
Fonda looks like he is thinking about his shopping list. James Coburn (the
primary reason I picked up the film) definitely classes things up, but we
don't see enough of him.
This film isn't quite a train wreck, but it is something of a demolition
derby. Between a bus, a sportscar, a taxi, and a motorcycle. And a kid on a
tricycle.
I'm going to hang onto it for a while, just to share Angus Scrimm's scene
with people. And to prove I didn't dream it.
0