Freaky Deaky

I wanted to like this film. I love Elmore Leonard novels, and loved Get Shorty, 52 Pickup, Get Straight and Jackie Brown (Rum Punch). In the hands of a master like Tarantino, Elmore Leonard's complex and fast-paced plots, with numerous characters throwing witty street banter around, really shine.

Unfortunately, Charles Mattheau isn't up to the task, and characters are miscast, pacing is awful, even the score is wrong in so many places. This film often comes off as a bad TV tongue-in-cheek crime show, complete with dramatic musical flourishes when the camera zooms in on the sexy legs of actresses Sabina Gadeki and Breanne Racano. (Their legs and other beautiful body parts are the best things about these mediocre actresses, in my opinion). The explosion scenes are evidence of a severe shortage in the sfx budget as well as the actor budget.

Even the usually outstanding Crispin Glover as the spacey drunken rich guy Woody Ricks is tepid, either overacting scenes or underacting them. Everything seems out of sync in this film.

Perhaps I'm holding it up to too high of a standard with the aforementioned Leonard film adaptations. But it is what it is...and cool 70's sets and apparel (the novel was set in the 60s), witty Leonard dialog and clever plot apparently weren't enough for director Mattheau to pull this off. I have to believe Elmore Leonard is supremely disappointed in this effort, since as I recall he labeled this his favorite novel. One can only hope that someday a director like Tarantino remakes this film the right way, and captures the crazy 60's vibe from the novel.

I love Elmore Leonard I have read just about every novel he has written this is not among my favorites. However some of my favorites (Stick, 52 Pick Up, Rum Punch) have been made into completely terrible films.

This on the other hand is a nice adaptation. Characterizations and dialog doesn't stray much from the original story. Much of it plays out just like it did in my imagination when I read the book. The acting was passable, though I thought Glover (and to a lesser degree Andy Dick) were miscast but they did a decent job. The tone of the movie was light and breezy just like the novel. I would love to see the director take a crack at one of Leonard's better novels like Stick or The Hunted.

Loved it! Such an original film with a really talented cast. The plot had me right from the start and there was plenty of laughs to the very end. It's a watch from me.

Watching movies without any previous knowledge of them is how I experience them. Sometimes I might know the book, graphic novel or whatever source it is based on. In this case, I had no idea there was a book, therefor cannot compare it to it whatsoever. From reading from other sources it seems to be a good interpretation of it. I can only say that it has a nice vibe to it (guess the book had the same thing going on then).

Michael Jai White might seem to have the weakest character at first, but seems to have more going on (also acting wise) than some of the others. Everyone is having fun though and it's tough to really dislike the movie, I think. It's good little fun, even for those who didn't know what a "Freaky Deaky" is ...

Slick, stylish and scatter shot, Charles Matthau's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Freaky Deaky is enjoyable viewing. Though the book that the film was based on was resolutely set in the 1980s, Matthau's adaptation has been shifted into the 1970s, which offers up a whole lot more visual fun in terms of costumes, cars, locations and a nicely garish kitsch look. It features a very strong cast and the story essentially deals with three main sets of characters as they interact, all in the pursuit of easy money. They are cynical ex-bomb squad cop Chris Mankowski (Burke) and beautiful party girl Greta (Sabina Gadecki); super-eccentric long-haired millionaire Woody (Glover) and his loyal-sh driver/confidant Donelle (White), and finally ex-con/femme fatal Robin (Breanne Racano) and her bomb-making boyfriend Skip Gibbs (Slater). A suitably funky 1970s–style score and slices of smart dialog help push this film into the top echelon of its genre, and I highly recommend it!