Customer Reviews

Scorched

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

 

 

When I first saw Scorched, I had the same lackluster response to it as most of the other reviewers. I fully expected to forget it utterly, and was quite surprised to find that my thoughts kept returning to it. Eventually I was motivated to see it again and find out why, and the second time through I figured it out.

While the movie does only a tolerable job of telling a funny story and holding the viewer's attention, it delivers a devastatingly accurate rendition of the cultural wasteland that is the California-Arizona desert.

In the same way that Lost in Translation so exquisitely captures the feeling of working abroad on your own, Scorched captures the utterly sublime squalor of small desert towns. The setting is squalid, the things that happen in the plot are squalid, and above all, the characters are so delicisouly squalid.

Taken as a portrait rather than a story, this movie is a masterpiece.

I loved this movie! The plot was pretty simple but the quirkiness made it really keep my interest. Note, for example, the shirts worn by the boy with the plane and Doleman. And what to heck is that on the boy's face? Also, watch Doleman's face during the opening credits. And watch the two "Monday" bank scenes closely. Notice any differences? Why was that scene filmed twice (other than the different character perspectives)? Oh yeah, see if anything strikes you as odd about the rubber arrow on Charles Merchant's face during his infomercial. These and other oddities that aren't tied to the plot make it clear that the director/writers/actors enjoyed making the movie which makes it fun to watch. I'd love to know where it was filmed and how accurate the bank temperature display was! It said 94 in the morning and 112 in the afternoon. Details that seem trivial are rarely in a film by accident so the quirks in this film help make it worth seeing a few times.

This is a great comedy of errors and luck. It has the same cinematic feel of Rat Race but without the cheesy politically correct ending.

All of the main characters are in some way tied to a bank. John Cleese is the ecentric millionare client that sells "How to Make Money in Real Estate" books on tape. Woody Harrelson is a strange dessert animal loving weirdo that wishes to avenge death of his duck's mother. If these two character breifs sound like something you normally like then you will definitely like this movie.

I bought this DVD on a whim while in my local shop. I figured, hey, it's got 2 hot chicks in it, and 2 guys who are pretty funny. I was right. I laughed the whole way through this movie. It's got a decent plot, good solid characters who are funny, and a quirky way about it. If you're into movies like "How To Kill Your Neighbor's Dog", "An Everlasting Piece", or "100 Girls" then this movie is your cup 'o tea.

Scorched is one of those flicks you've seen a dozen times over: Crazy cast of characters who seem destined to a life less realized. But circumstances dictate they pull out all the stops, gamble with everything they have or will ever have, and choose another path.

Scorched is one of those flicks you've seen a dozen times over: Crazy cast of characters who seem destined to a life less realized. But circumstances dictate they pull out all the stops, gamble with everything they have or will ever have, and choose another path.

In this case, three tellers in a small southwestern community have decided that they're going to rob the bank. The twist: None of them knows the plans of the others -and- each has independently planned to do it over the same weekend.

Sheila (Silverstone) because she wants to get back at her recent-ex-boyfriend, the prig bank manager. Stuart (Costanzo) because he's never done anything "big" in his life. And Woods (Harrelson) the wilderness hippie who has been working undercover as a corporate stooge in order to get revenge for the death of his best friend's mother. His best friend is a duck named George.

And almost any production that has Woody Harrelson in the mix is likely to be, at the very least, interesting - even if the film itself sucks toads. In Harrelson's case - that can be taken literally.

As it happens, Woody notwithstanding, this was an enjoyable flick.

Lightheartedly funny throughout, touching and sentimental at the right spots, and plausible enough to make some sense in movie terms. A difficult balance for this kind of low-budget ensemble production. So credit is due to Director Grazer who achieved it.

My only real complaint is the "what happened after" history clip didn't include one of the main characters - spunky Rachael Leigh Cook. It's rather insulting to her and her character not having a resolution.

This is a solid rental choice for a cold rainy day. Something light to pass away the time and catch a few laughs. And to be blunt, watching the always enjoyable John Cleese running around in a gaudy kimono, loaded shotgun in hand, and an angry pomeranian hunting pesky egg throwers is always good for a few chuckles.

Three stars, but a strong three - or a perhaps low four - depending on the type of movies you enjoy.

I honestly don't know why I'm giving Scorched such a high rating. It wasn't particularly funny, it was only sometimes interesting, the beginning of the film was nearly unwatchable because it was so awful, and yet, here I am giving the movie a 4 out of 5 rating!

It's about a bunch of people who work at a bank who develop their own ways to steal the money out of the safes. The story is actually carefully and somewhat intelligently put together, and some of the scenes near the middle of the film were really good (such as that one guy leaving his fancy home with a shotgun and walking down the street going after the people he believes are throwing eggs at the house, not to mention his little dog was hysterical too).

A very good moment at the very end of the film before the credits start rolling. I loved that ending. This is one of those "good enough to waste an hour and a half" type movies and not a classic case of comedy genius or anything.

Doleman (Marcus Thomas) needs a job. The only problem is, he doesn't interview well and he doesn't look like someone you would want to hire. So his roommate, Schmally (Rachael Leigh Cook) gives him a makeover and drives him to an interview at the local bank, where he is actually hired! Doleman is very excited and cannot wait to start the next week, but, in the meantime, the bank's tellers have plans of their own...

There is the assistant manager, Woods (Woody Harrelson), a nature nut who lives with a duck whose mother was murdered. He makes a lousy $0.55 more per hour than the other tellers and feels that the bank owes him for his years of service. His plan is to steal the money out of a safe deposit box in the bank. The box belongs to Mr. Merchant (John Cleese), the richest man in town who made a fortune with his infomercial selling a get-rich-quick video tape that tells you how to become wealthy by selling real estate. Woods has one key, but the other key is strapped to Merchant's little yippy dog's collar. Now all Woods has to do is get the key from the dog and he is in!

Sheila (Alicia Silverstone), another teller, has just been dumped by her louse of a boyfriend, Rick (Joshua Leonard), who just happens to be the bank manager. Sheila is furious that she wasted all of her time on this jerk and she is even more upset that she paid for Rick's education and tutoring - including the tutor that Rick was now involved with! Sheila knows that Rick will be fired if the ATM machines are robbed one more time at the bank, so she comes up with a plan to do just that...

Stuart (Paulo Costanzo) is a genius who is always talking his broke, loser friend Max (David Krumholtz) out of hair-brained schemes. Who knew that one day Max might actually have a good idea? All Stuart has to do is get the $250,000 out of the mini-vault behind the tellers on a Friday night. Then they can take the money to Vegas, bet it all on one turn of the roulette wheel and his life would be changed forever! If Stuart wins, he will replace the money in the vault, if Stuart loses, he will be on the run for the rest of his life...

Three tellers with three plans to rob the bank all on the same night. None of the three know about any of the other plans and Doleman is still happily getting ready for work - until Schmally drags him out to egg Mr. Merchant's house for the crappy video that she shelled out her hard earned money for...

Scorched had the potential to be an extremely funny movie. With a talented cast and intriguing characters, this movie has it all - except a solid plot and some funny one-liners. Still, the movie does get it right at random moments and I found myself laughing quite often. The only problem is that the comedy is uneven and sometimes is too over the top to really work in the story. Also, for having so many talented comedians in the film, I have to admit that there were no real standouts as far as the cast is concerned. They all just delivered some bland, forgettable performances that they probably won't even bother to put on their resume. This movie makes for a decent rental, but I would make sure that you watch it late at night when you are tired and more likely to be forgiving...

I recieved this DVD in perfect condition and it was delivered quickly. I would buy from this seller again!

This movie plays off the indie irreverence style but has some interesting characters in a somewhat warped life. The movie has some funny scenes that keep you engaged as they develop character roles of a group of people lost in heir life and seeking new direction and purpose. Ironically they all reach similar conclusions over the same weekend and a parallel character study ensues. . . . a good watch for John Cleese or Woody Harrelson fans but also for those wanting an amusing diversion.

It will make you laugh.

We rented this movie on a whim, wanting a good comedy that doesn't rely on loads of toilet humor to be funny. This one fits the bill. It's not an outstanding movie, but if you're looking for a fun, lighthearted movie, it's perfectly adequate, especially since there's several big name stars in the cast.

The local branch of a bank in a small town has three tellers. First is Stuart. He's a little nervous, and he's always telling his best friend, Max, why Max's hair brained make money fast schemes won't work. Then there's Jason, an ecologically minded desert dweller, who lives with a duck. And last is Sheila, who moved out with her boyfriend. The boyfriend is the bank manager, Rick.

In addition to the three bank tellers and the bank manager, there's Carter and Shmally, Mark, and Cherchant. Carter has motivational problems and Schmally has trouble sorting out the fantasies of her D&D character and her real life. Mark's a firefighter and kind of love interest to Sheila. And Charles Merchant is the zany millionaire who sells his tapes on how to get rich through real estate.

The three tellers are less than pleased with their jobs, and all three decide to rob the bank. However, no one mentions their plan to anyone else, and they all pick the same weekend to do it. Stuart's plan is simple; he can grab a set of keys that will let him get into the mini vault behind the teller's bench, which contains about $250,000. He plans on grabbing it Friday, leaving for Vegas that night, and betting it all on black on the roulette table. If he wins, he puts it back. If he loses, he becomes a criminal.

Jason's plan is a little more devious. As the assistant manager (with a whopping 55 cents an hour raise), he has one of the two the keys needed to get into a Safe Deposit Box. Charles Merchant keeps a large amount of money in his, and his fuzzy dog keeps the key hidden in its collar. Jason plans to snag the key off the dog, use his door key to get into the bank when it's closed on Sunday, and take Merchant's money. Part of it is a payback on Merchant, who shot and killed his duck's mother.

Sheila plans to not only rob the bank, but get Rick, the manager fired. It turns out she'd spent all her money to send him to college and hire him a tutor, and now he's dating the tutor and has dumped her. She makes a copy of the key that protects the room behind the ATMs and is going to steal the $40,000 in each of the ATMs. Hackers once got in and through the codes and cleaned the ATM's out that way, and if it happens again Rick gets fired.

The movie isn't bad, although I did have a couple questions. First, why did Rachael Leigh Cook get billing with Silverstone, Cleese, and Harrelson? She only has a bit part. Paul Costanzo should have gotten top billing, as he's one of the three tellers. I can only guess that he's not a big enough star. My other question is a rather obvious plot hole. Shiela's plan is to steal the money out of the ATM's and have it blamed on hackers. In the opening scene it's obvious both of them are in the lobby of the building. If the bank is closed on Sunday, and there's no sign of forced entry, how would hackers break into the ATM's and get the money out of the lobby? It's not like they could just transfer it, the physical money would still be there. Sheila used her keys to get into the bank, so the lobby wasn't left open for customers.

The movie is really quite funny, with all the characters running into each other and getting tied into the plot in varying ways. It's almost slapstick the way things work out, and the ending has you cheering for the three bank robbers. It has some questions and plot holes, but if you want something fun it's worth renting, or possibly buying.