Customer Reviews

With Friends Like These [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How far will friends go to get that "big break" in Hollywood? If you're a wanna-be Sopranos star, the news of Martin Scorcese casting for the leads in an Al Capone film is too good to be true. This amusing film skillfully manuevers the lies and deception that four friends pull on each other as each jockey's for that coveted interview... incredible casting, including quite a few surprise "star" bits, keeps the film fresh, lively and on target.

I picked up this film randomly from the sale table at Hollywood Video, primarily because of its incredible cast. It has become one of my favorite films of all time. If you enjoy the angst of an Albert Brooks comedy, you will love the smorgasboard of professional actor angst served up by this gem. The plot revoles around four friends (Adam Arkin, David Straithairn, John Tenny, and Robert Costanzo) all of whom have achieved a modicum of success in Hollywood as B-List players, but all of whom aspire to become A-List." When one gets the casting call of a lifetime for a Scorcese film, the other three, green with envy, start jockeying surreptitiously for a reading. Their supportive but realistic wives and girlfriends(Amy Madigan, Elle McPherson, Laura San Giacomo and Lauren Tan) suffer through the madness of their Method, and the self absorbtion/self doubt of these guys reaches sizemic proportions. The climax provides a major surprise and the epilogue proves that once bitten, the acting bug burrows in for life. Great supporting roles, by Bill Murray, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael McKean, Martin Scorcese and Gary Marshall, make this wry comedy a must see and a must have.

I don't understand why this enjoyable movie is not on DVD. Wittily shows the shallowness and competitiveness of the movie industry. David Strathairn is, as usual, excellent.