Jerry and Tom

A tedious, dialogue-intensive story about the vicissitudes of a mentor/protege hitman team, "Jerry & Tom" is a study in understatement with a pointless plot and an ending which may make you want to "whack" yourself for having watched the whole thing.

This is part of my Scarecrow Video Guide inspired movie-trek, following "Steven Soderbergh's Schizopolis".

"Jerry & Tom" is a fun little black comedy, but it reminded me a little too much of another fun little black comedy..."Coldblooded", starring Jason Priestly & Peter Riegert. (Oddly, Riegert shows up here in a similar role. And, as of now, both films have a 6.7 on IMDb.). I'm not sure which one is lesser known, but they both have something to offer.

"Jerry & Tom" is the "better" film, if only by virtue of the performances. Joe Mantegna is always good, and Sam Rockwell can't lose, IMHO. But nothing much happens here. "Coldblooded" was more fun, as I recall. (It's been at least 7 years since I saw it.) I could tell 10 minutes in that "Jerry & Tom" was based on a play. It's basically a series of conversations, some brilliantly funny, centered around a group of hit men. It would be a great play, but as a film it's a little lacking. There's an amazing series of creative transitions to show time passages (the story takes place over 10 years), and some hilarious flashbacks. But the scenes in between are incredibly slow.

Still, it's hard to fault a film with great actors reading great lines. Aside from Mantegna and Rockwell, Charles Durning is predictably excellent, and William H. Macy shines in a brief role.

Perhaps these two films would make a good double feature. Watch "Jerry & Tom" first and savor it, then have a few drinks and enjoy "Coldblooded".

Next on the trek- "Forbidden Zone"!

I saw this on a premium channel and thought my wife and in-laws might actually enjoy it. But even though it's become a family joke, i liked it. The one charac- ter that has a development "arc" is played by the talented Sam Rockwell. No one seems to know how to cast this actor, so we may never see him in a major role in a movie with an actual budget, but he and the others (i particularly liked Ted Danson's contribution; funny stuff) do a great job with a low-key directing style by first time feature director Saul Rubinek. Think Brian DePalma in reverse. If you're here, you know what the movie's about, so i'll just say that, though not a Hall of Fame candidate, this is an enjoyable dark comedy with some excellent visual touches in transitions from scene to scene.

Don't look for a deep meaning for life in this film. Look for a very entertaining two hours of superb characters, situations, and some of the most crafty filming techniques I've seen in years. The transitions from one scene to the next were very clever. This one was worth rewinding and watching the characters more closely to fully appreciate them and many of the scene transitions. This is a quality film. The story is not overly complex but keeps you guessing as to what will be next.

Tired of the Hollywood formula movies? Tired of shallow characters? Rent this one, you will not be disappointed.

1st watched 4/1/2001 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Saul Rubinek): Witty, black comedy with terrific performances by Mantegna and Sam Rockwell. This is the kind of movie that is somewhat of a guilty pleasure because there are times when you're laughing as someone is getting killed or at least in the process of being killed. This is definetly the intent of filmmaker Saul Rubinek where there is a mix of normal guy(who happens to be a hitman)and hitmen(who just happen to own a used car lot). The movie starts out in the present as it appears Jerry and Tom are waiting to "do" another person, and then takes you back ten years to show you how Jerry got involved in the business that Tom already has been doing for many years. There isn't much morality here and really no lessons are taught but that's ok it's just a movie, and a pretty good one at that.