Customer Reviews

Knockaround Guys [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I went to this movie with a little trepidation, considering that the trailer just didn't do it a lot of justice. It was more or less a case of this being the best choice of what was available at the theater. What I thought would be a mediocre film, turned out to be a very good film starring a couple of today's best young actors, Barry Pepper and Vin Diesel.

The premise: "Knockaround Guys" is a wonderful story about four young, second generation mobsters. Most of them have grown up in the shadows of there fathers who think that they are not capable of anything more than being delivery men. That is of course, with the exception of Vin Diesel's character who just likes to fight. Barry Pepper's father, played by Dennis Hopper, especially doesn't feel he's capable of going very far in the business. In an attempt to prove his mettle to his father, he persuades him into letting him run an operation. He's allowed to do so and immediately screws it up by relying on one of his other friends, who, in essence is a screw up and completely blows it. Barry Pepper and the rest of the mobsters all get in a plane and fly to nowhere where his other friend lost the "item." From there, we have a wonderful and intriguing movie, which displays how good some of today's movie stars can be.

While not being "Goodfellas," this is one of the better "mob" films to come out in quite some time. I would definitely recommend that you see this film.

Knockaround Guys is, to me, an instant classic. It's up there with TRUE ROMANCE and ROAD TO PERDITION - though at times it feels a little more like STAND BY ME with mobsters than your usual post-Tarantino noir. Don't be fooled by the SNATCH-like ad campaign. Although SNATCH and KNOCKAROUND GUYS both involve some bumbling criminals, KNOCKAROUND GUYS is much less comical (though still very funny at times) in its portrayal, and will probably turn off most of Vin Diesel's FAST AND THE FURIOUS crowd. It is an infinitely smarter and more emotional film than Vin's previous efforts.

The plot revolves around Berry Pepper's character, the son of underboss Dennis Hopper, who is trying to break free of his family name and become a legitimate sports agent. His efforts are in vain, however, and in the end, he thinks that the only way he can be respected is to work for his father. With the help of his uncle, John Malkovich, he convinces his father to give him a shot. Unfortunately, one of Pepper's less reliable friends (Seth Green) throws a rather large wrench in the gears and unintentionally wreaks havoc in Pepper's life. Pepper, Green, Vin Diesel, and Andrew Davoli head into a small hick town to straighten things up, but the chaos only escalates.

The cast is brilliantly assembled. The always likable Berry Pepper receives what is perhaps his best role, and Vin Diesel manages to rise above his Rob Cohen taint and shine in one of the film's more standout performances. Seth Green plays a sympathetic loser surprisingly well (provided you can forget he ever appeared in RAT RACE), and newcomer Andrew Davoli takes a memorable turn as the playboy of the bunch. We haven't seen Tom Noonan have this much fun with a villainous role since he was the Nuke-addicted heavy in ROBOCOP 2. On top of that, veteran performers John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper help solidify things.

Aside from a stellar cast, the script is well-written, the music is well-chosen (in a complete contrast to THE TRANSPORTER), and there's never a dull moment. This is a modern look at the gangster film genre, and treats the material as such. There's never a scene in which somebody gets gunned down to the mellow sounds of Luciano Poveratti (thank goodness), so it's clearly not the stereotypical stuff. KNOCKAROUND GUYS has heart, but it also has enough brutality and levity to keep you interested. In short, I loved this movie.

Knockaround Guys didn't spend much time in the theaters (at least not around here), but it is a movie I wanted to see badly. And it doesn't disappoint. Barry Pepper gives a great performance. Vin Diesel actually acts in this movie, rather than just relying on his size and 'action-hero' status. Seth Green's performance is uneven, but more often than not he plays his role (as an unlikeable guy) very well. Dennis Hopper plays Benny Chains, the mob underboss. There's nothing spectacular about his performance, but it is solid. John Malkovich is brilliant, even if his accent is not. Tom Noonan is the breakout star here. He plays his role as a crooked sherrif great (and very dark). This is Brian Koppelman and David Levien's first time at directing, and they also wrote the film (Lawrence Bender produced it). All in all, it is a pretty good movie. Well worth seeing. It's a mafia movie that is both what we expect and something new. The dvd contains a handful of deleted/alternate scenes (with and without commentary) and an insightful commentary track by the directors.

In my days at a young age, a pre-teen boy might simply aspire to a Scout merit badge. In KNOCKAROUND GUYS, 11 year-old Matty has already demonstrated to his father, Benny Chains (Dennis Hopper), that he doesn't have what it takes to join the Old Man's business. Benny is a Chicago Mafia kingpin. So, by the time the boy's a young man (now played by Barry Pepper), he's completely without direction. Matty has long accepted the fact that he hasn't got what it takes to work for and impress Dad, and he can't seem to land a legit 9 to 5. So, now what?

Then, opportunity knocks. Benny needs a handbag picked up at the Spokane airport and brought back to the Windy City. Matty begs for, and receives, the assignment. Rather than go himself, he gets his friend, Johnny Marbles (Seth Green), to fly his Beechcraft to Washington to make the connection. Marbles, who has the reputation for being a screw-up, is also a mobster's drifting kid. On his return flight, Johnny manages to lose the bag - filled with $500,000 - on a gas stop at the tiny airport that serves Wibaux, Montana. (Yes, Mabel, there really is a Wibaux - on Interstate 84 just west of the North Dakota state line.)

Matty and two other discontented pals of Mob lineage, the dapper Chris (Andrew Davoli) and tough guy Taylor (Vin Diesel), arrive to help recover the dough before Benny goes ballistic. That's when things really go into the toilet.

KNOCKAROUND GUYS is a coming-of-age story with a twist (albeit at an unusually late age for such Hollywood fairy tales). Part of the film's attraction can perhaps be traced to the viewing public's current love affair with such murderous offerings as THE SOPRANOS. Certain scenes in KNOCKAROUND GUYS are decidedly violent. And then there's the challenge of perceiving any of the main characters as likable enough to root for, much less invite home for Thanksgiving dinner. Perhaps we should instead be looking for personae of interest. Taylor and Teddy are the most watchable. Vin Diesel as the former is more substantial in a supporting role than his "XXX" lead. Taylor's just a buffed-up, uneducated, street-smart brawler. But, he's intensely loyal to Matty, and has no illusions about how he's wasted his life to the present. John Malkovich is mesmerizingly venomous as the psychopathic Teddy, Benny's right-hand Good Fella. There's one delicious scene in which Teddy bemoans the fact that, whereas before a hit man could just get the job done, now one has to be concerned with everybody's feelings.

After viewing KNOCKAROUND GUYS, I was mildly surprised to realize that there was no actress in either a lead or significantly supporting role. There's no romance here. Not even any vaguely warm and touchy-feely moments. This is a hard-bitten Guy Flick for the boys on their night out.

This was a great little movie. It was definitely top loaded on talent - John Malkovich, Dennis Hopper, Barry Pepper, Seth Green, Vin Diesel, Andrew Davoli. It was a new twist on a New York mobster tale as they all head off to Montana, of all places.

Some humor, some drama, some violence (Vin Diesel plays a great enforcer - very believable), treachery, bad cops, some good mobsters. It wasn't Scarface but it's well worth watching.

I really enjoyed the movie. It is cool: many lines that I wish I could use in real life without getting the stinky kicked out of me. Not such a violent movie as to get in the way of a good plot. Great entertainment. (P.S. My wife liked it just as much!)

thought it was good didn't think it would be entertaining good job by the actors...

Summary:
Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a New York mob boss who has been convinced he has no stomach for his father's line of work; mostly by his uncle, Teddy Deserve (John Malkovich). Mobster children not having a stomach for the work is apparently as common as bananas in Central America, so this shouldn't be a big deal, but Matty still wants to work. The problem is Matty's family name prevents him from finding work elsewhere. Thus, the movie begins with him finally convincing both his father and his Uncle (who is his father's second in command) that he can handle a job for the 'organization' since it is only going to involve transporting something and not killing anyone.

The mission is to transport some money from the Midwest back to New York. The money is a loan from a friendly mob to help Matty's father as he plugs some of the holes in his operation (someone is stealing his money). One of Matty's close friends, Johnny Marbles (Seth Green), is a pilot, and Matty gets him to make the run. But on the way back to New York with the money, Johnny has to temporarily ditch it when he stops for gas at an airport to avoid the suspicion of some authorities. When he returns for the bag of money, it's gone.

Matty then gets two of his closest friends, Chris Scarpa (Andrew Davoli) and Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel) to join him and Johnny in podunk Montana to track down the money. Two stereotyped skateboarder airline employees found the bag and have begun to treat themselves to some of the money. But the father of one of the boys, Sheriff Decker (Tom Noonan), catches up with his son and finds the money. Quickly realizing why Matty and his friends are in town, the Sheriff decides to split the money with his deputy and kill the Knockaround Guys (Matty and his friends).

The Knockaround Guys, meanwhile, have begun employing mobster style tactics to get the money back, but Matty has also had to report to his father, resulting in his Uncle Teddy coming out to solve the problem. When everything comes to a head, only Matty and Taylor walk away alive, but with the money. And, as it turns out, Teddy was the one stealing from Matty's dad.

My Comments:
I guess this is supposed to be a new twist on the mobster story as the movie is about a bunch of mobster children discovering what it really means to be mobsters. But novelty isn't enough to make for a good story.

From the beginning the movie is riddled with problems. Why would Matty's dad trust his son's junkie friend to transport $500,000 when he knows he's a recovering dopehead, and a scrawny one at that? I wouldn't trust the guy with a rock, let alone half a million dollars. And if Matty's dad is virtually all-powerful, why doesn't he just put on a little pressure to get him a job somewhere? Am I naive to think that might work?

And then there's the whole Uncle Teddy embezzling from the father thing. Maybe I was the only person that that hit from out of nowhere, but it sure seemed to me there was no set up for this twist. One minute Uncle Teddy was a nice guy, the next he was stealing money from Matty's dad and had every intention of killing Matty himself. It was absolutely unconvincing. I'm thinking it was thrown in there just to make the movie interesting. There are numerous other plot problems as well, including Scarpa deciding not to run and some very slow sequences while the Knockaround Guys are waiting for the sheriff to deal.

As far as the acting goes, it wasn't terrible, but neither should it be up for any awards. John Malkovich was a little unique, but I think it's just because he isn't standard mobster material. Seth Green was silly, but hey, that's Seth Green. The rest of the cast was bearable, except when they attempted to deliver philosophical monologues, which just don't seem right coming from someone like Vin Diesel.

Overall, the movie is watchable but not recommended. It's slow, full of plot holes, and not particularly surprising or interesting. I might recommend it for Vin Diesel or John Malkovich fans, but everyone else should stay away.

Okay. By my title you can tell I am a Seth Green fan. I love the guy. Thought Oz was the best character ever. Then on a bad stormy day (in my mind) I learned that Seth was leaving Buffy to do a movie Knockaround guys. It was hard at first, but I got over it as long as I got to watch the movie. Well two years later the movie is released. You think. However, it was decided to held back until Vin Disl became famous. So I don't watch it at the theater because the one in my town is too small. So I stupidly decide to buy just cause Seth is in it. Big Mistake!! One I was bored, two there was maybe one scene I liked, and three Seth died in it. So if you are a Seth fan and you want to see it because of him, rent it first and if you like it then go ahead and buy it. You have been warned.

KNOCKAROUND GUYS is a decent gangster flick that could have been an episode of the SOPRANOS. What makes the film work is the cast and again, Vin Diesel shows he has screen presence. Also, sometimes just being a supporting character or being part of an ensemble is better than being the headliner. This is a pretty good ensemble with Barry Pepper (61*), Seth Green (IDLE HANDS),Vin Diesel (XXX), Dennis Hopper (SPEED), and John Malchovich (BEING JOHN MALCHOVICH). The plot is generic, but again the performances and characters bring the script and story up a notch. A Brooklyn gangster's, (Benny Demaret-Hopper) son Matty, (Pepper) wants to prove that he is up to be being more involved with the family business and is given an assignment to pick up a satchel of cash in Spokane Washington. He recruits his friend (Green), a pilot, to do the pick up with his airplane, but along the way the money ends up in a Montana hick town during a routine fueling stopover. First in the hands of two stoner baggage handlers, then in the hands of a small town corrupt Sheriff and his deputy. Matty then recruits the rest of his friends to retreive it, but it's not that easy because the Sheriff plays hardball. Matty then must call in the artillery, his gangster Uncle Teddy (Malchovich) and his henchmen. Then a a small twist happens when they come into the picture. The performances are restrained and not too over the top, but the Montana characters are stereotypical. The film moves along fine with an even pace and there's a great sequence with Matty and his three friends. They are trying to figure out how to get the money back as they are stuck in the small Montana town. Diesel's character states thay must find the toughest guy in town, beat the hell out of him, and then he'll pass along the information to whoever has their cash. Overall, an entertaining film saved by casting especailly the supporting role of Vin Diesel and a nice performance by the versatile Barry Pepper.