Posted: 10/13/2002

Knockaround Guys

(2002)

by Hank Yuloff

Hot all-star male cast tries hard to make weak story work.

I waited a long time for this movie. It was on my reservation list in June of 2001. I almost thought it would never get released, having it’s release date pushed back at least 4 times. My reaction is to wonder what I was waiting for. It’s not a bad movie, but you won’t be disappointed if you wait until it comes to you via the cable box.

Barry Pepper stars as Matty Demaret, the son of a Brooklyn mobster (Dennis Hopper as Benny Demaret) who has struggled to find a job as a “civilian” only to find his name keeping him away from a life of crime. Only his dad doesn’t want to let him into the family business.

As a way to prove himself to his father, Matty sets up a pick up of cash from a west coast gang. His buddy Johnny Marbles (Seth Green from Austin Powers and Buffy—TV) will fly his plane to Washington and bring it back to New York. Things go awry when Marbles lands for gas in Montana and “misplaces” the bag of money.

Now Matty has to go get it. He brings along pals Chris Scarpa (Andrew Davoli from The Yards) and Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel from XXX). Their plan to get the money back gets them into more trouble than they figured they would because the money falls into the hands of a crooked cop (“That’s what I said, a cop.”) who plans on keeping the cash for himself while eliminating the four hoodlum wannabes.

It’s hard not to compare Knockaround Guys to The Sopranos. We see mob life from the “inside.” Trust is a difficult commodity to come by and because of the nature of the life that they’ve chosen, it is a bleak future that most of them will realize. So which is better? Easily, The Sopranos. I have a hard time imagining Knockaround Guys becoming a television show that could sustain these characters (the “why” becomes painfully obvious during the movie). The acting just isn’t there. I liked Pepper far more in 61 (The Roger Maris story) and The Green Mile. I liked Diesel far more in Boiler Room (he doesn’t have to show his pecks to be an effective story teller) and Fast and the Furious. Don’t bother me with XXX. And most of the time it looked like Scarpa was auditioning for the HBO series.

The rest of the acting is only marginal for actors that I normally love. Tom Noonan (The Pledge) is the sheriff but seems so one-dimensional as to be a cartoon character. And I was really disappointed in John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich, Mary Reilly) who I generally love. In fact, this movie became a must-see when I saw his name attached. Dennis Hopper’s character is drawn with the same shallow dimensions as Noonan’s lawman. Seth Green’s performance was good, but I have liked him far more in other productions.

But the unusual juxtaposition of Mob and Midwest makes for a watch able hour and a half… But wait until its Television and you don’t have to leave the comfort of your couch to see it.

Hank Yuloff pestered us for a year and a half to review this movie. Gosh — he ought to get a life.

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