Customer Reviews

Keys to Tulsa

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

 

 

It's offensive that Cameron Diaz is on the cover of this thing, when her mediocre part is over just about as soon as the credits.

Joanna Going gave her all, meanwhile, and isn't mentioned on the box at all. I bought the DVD to see her, and every red-blooded male out there bought it for the same reason. Who are they kidding with this Cameron Diaz jazz? It's a taut mystery story, too, with real characters in an unreal situation. I loved it.

I could hold forth on the relative merits of this DVD's entertainment value--you get to see some weird incarnations of various prominent actors, James Spader looking particularly weird; not that many flicks set in Oklahoma these days; Joanna Going carried the film, etc. etc.--but instead I think I'll criticize the DVD itself. First off, it has exactly ONE "special feature" (production stills, at that!). Furthermore, not only does this disc lack the extended cut (missing 3 minutes, this is just the R-rated version), it is also, most pathetically of all, full-frame only. Come on! This is a 2002 release of a **1997** film, and somehow they couldn't manage a widescreen edition. Has the distributor already been repossessed or something? It's DVDs like this that make me doubt for the future of the medium. Get with the program, Artisan!

Maybe the well-known people didn't amount to much, certainly Cameron Diaz's part wasn't much, though she did it well, but Joanna Going took my breath away. What's the matter with critics?

Just how bad can a movie starring James Coburn (who would win the Oscar for "Affliction," also 1997), Mary Tyler Moore, Eric Stoltz, James Spader and Deborah Unger (more effective as a married couple in "Crash"), Michael Rooker ("Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"), Joanna Going and, in a bit part, a pre-"There's Something About Mary" Cameron Diaz be? Far worse than I thought. I have no idea why these actors, who've all done better work elsewhere, would have agreed to star in such a stinker. Easily one of the more inept entries in the overcrowded post-"Pulp Fiction" dying-to-be-hip black comic neo-noir derby.

Stoltz, saddled with a bad haircut and the unfortunate name of Richter Boudreau, is completely miscast as a reporter who mostly just walks around with his shirt open, and his love scenes with Vicky (Unger) and Cherry (Going) are pretty tepid, especially in the scene where Going's punk rock stripper character drags herself over a plate of sausage and eggs en route to a morning quickie (can you say yuck?).

And the film isn't even half as interesting as I've made it sound! Cinematography and soundtrack are competent, but the story doesn't make sense, dialogue is DOA, characters uninteresting, direction listless, and actors bored. Only some morbid and compulsive form of curiosity kept me going until the very end. Not even bad-good.

Maybe it's something about the water in Annapolis, but I too thought Joanna Going was spectacular. Mary Tyler Moore was fun as a nasty mother, too.

This is another movie that seemed to suffer of the "Pulp Fiction" effect, as it pretty much relies on attitude, cool badass characters, stylish cinematography and edgy music to give mood. The story, however, isn`t that great, turning into an average betrayal plot that doesn`t bring nothing new or too memorable, and is a bit too slow. Some good moments still occur, though, and the acting is alright, with talents like Eric Stoltz, James Spader, Mary Tyler Moore and even a then unnoticed Cameron Diaz. So, "Keys To Tulsa" is a decent indie movie that`s neither too surprising nor too disappointing, another one to watch at a rainy night.

I wasn't expecting much based on the reviews here, but I have to say that I've seen a lot of worse movies than this. Sure some of the dialogue is inane, some of the actors overact, and the direction uses too many cliche's (seems like everybody is either smoking, drinking, having sex or taking drugs in every scene).
Perhaps it is a reflection of the decadence and decline of the american civilization as a whole. But this film isn't totally without merit. While there are bad elements to it, I didn't find anything particularly terrible. The older actors provided the best acting, imo. And of course, I don't know why Joanna Going wasn't in the credits as her presence was basically heavy in the latter half of the film. You do at least get the feeling that you are looking at a slice of midwest americana if nothing else
I will also say that this is one of the most sparse DVD's I've ever scene in terms of extras. I guess the producers or manufacturer figured that the market for this film was too small to justify too many extras.

The only thing that makes this movie worth seeing is James Spader. He is really EXCELLENT!

Very choppy shallow story line.

I bought this movie because I collect movies with Cameron Diaz and I can say it was disapointing. She appears during one minute at the beginning and never again!
I didn't find any interest in the story, and I was yawning all the time. How boring can this be?

the story is boring and stupid, the actors act very bad, except Cameron Diaz, but we only see her 5 minutes.