Safecrackers oder Diebe haben's schwer

"Welcome to Collingwood" offers some of the most hilarious dialog in recent memory. Watching this comedy directed by the brothers Anthony and Joe Russo reminded us of maybe another film we had seen in the past, but since we missed the opening credits, we had to wait until the end to discover that what we were reminded of, was the 1958 Italian film "Big Deal on Madonna Street", directed by Mario Monicelli.

The Russo brothers put together a magnificent cast to portray all the characters in the film. Anything with William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, Sam Rockwell, Patricia Clarkson, the late Michael Jeter, in it, can't be bad. Since this is an ensemble piece all characters get an opportunity in which to shine.

The film presents us a group of inane would-be safe crackers from hell. No one could think these men could carry on a job like the one they undertake. Whatever could go wrong, and more, is what they succeed in doing. George Clooney makes a small appearance as the master safe cracker who is also seen impersonating a rabbi, only to be confused with a priest by the gang members coming out of Cossimo's funeral.

The best way to enjoy the movie is to sit back and relax, and let all these small time crooks do their thing. Let their funny lines make you laugh, as anyone can see this gang is doomed from beginning to end!

This movie was recommended to me by a friend. I never saw an ad or a trailer, so I didn't know Clooney was in it and was not bothered by the fact that his role was so small. I thought the whole cast was suitable, and found the film pretty enjoyable, all in all. The opening scene, with the small crew of bandits standing at the side of the road, looking whipped and haggard, caught my attention immediately. It had a way of telling you, "don't go away; this won't be boring", and it really wasn't. It turned out to be an interesting, light-hearted comedy with enough twists and turns to keep you in your seat to the very end, but when the ending did arrive, I felt a little bit cheated....just a little bit. The events kept building up so that you expect them to continue building, but at a point that I can't define, it sort of levels out, making the ending a slight disappointment. I reckon I expected a bigger bang of a climax, but it turned out sort of low-key. If you watch the movie with that in mind and you can live without high dosages of George Clooney, you should find this flick very entertaining and well worth watching. Now I'd like to see the original (Big Deal on Madonna Street), but it's probably a rare find in the United States.

It's shameful that egotistic, pretentious film geeks need to rip apart remakes claiming that they can't possibly live up to the foreign originals upon which they are based. Foreign movies never translate and those that believe they are fantastic are likely only convincing themselves that is true. That said, I had no idea "Collinwood" was a remake and, regardless, thought it was surprisingly funny, well acted (the cast was phenomenal led by Sam Rockwell's perfectly funny lead) and just a good watch. Was is high handed film noir? No. Should it have won an award? No. Was is an enjoyable hour and change. Absolutely. Clooney, as always, was great in a limited, albeit offbeat role. Macy was fantastic. Michael Jeter was a tour de force as the old dude with the dirty shorts. And Luis Guzman was absolutely hysterical. It's a good watch regardless of what the pompous elite film police think. Check it out.

Sam Rockwell chalks up yet another affable, loopy criminal characterization. With "Safe Men", "Jerry and Tom", "The Heist" and later "Matchstick Men" this is becoming something of an expertise. To his credit, each time it's a winning act. Let's just hope he's not typecasting himself since Rockwell is clearly capable of a lot more.

With him are a band of equally oddball would be criminals, played terrifically by all with William H. Macy and Patricia Clarkson particularly on target. Then there's also George Clooney in a very funny cameo.

As with most caper movies, one does not ask for more than to be well entertained and this "Welcome to Collinwood" certainly succeeds in doing.

These guys are anything but the Usual Suspects! They are a total bunch of likeable oddballs who you want to see get away with it,but they are so hapless that there is very little chance of that.No one is better than William H Macy at portraying the man with a big heart but down on his luck.This is probably his best performance since Fargo.Sam Rockwell played the meathead boxer to perfection,and the rest of the gang were uniformly good also.Luis Guzman brought some great comic relief as Cosimo,and George Clooney stole every scene in his cameo role.The heist scene at the end was absolutely hilarious.

The direction was also spot on by the Russo brothers.There was certainly a Coen brothers feel to the film throughout and it will be interesting to see how they will develop their careers.They have a long way to go to match the Coen's but this is an excellent start and I look forward to their next celluloid outing. ......."Yo mutha's a whore"!