El plan: Un golpe a todo volumen

Congratulations to all those involved in STARK RAVING MAD on a job well done! I was lucky enough to be present at one of the recent screenings and I enjoyed myself thoroughly!

Before I get into specific comments, let me me tell you a little bit about my personal likes and dislikes so you have some sort of frame of reference.

Some of my favorite films of late have been ELECTION, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME and RUSHMORE. I'm a huge fan of Woody Allen (The current frontrunner is CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS) and the Coen Brothers. I also love the KIDS IN THE HALL, A FISH CALLED WANDA and GROUNDHOG DAY, which, to me, is the perfect comedy.

That being said...

STARK RAVING MAD isn't perfect but God bless the filmmakers for trying and, on many more occasions than not, succeeding! This is a smart comedy that looks great, has a kick ass soundtrack, well-rounded characters, a plot that keeps us on our toes without being confusing or illogical and a heart that hits some pretty serious emotional moments without ever being trite and saccharine.

Here's how I'd sum up this film:

FAWLTY TOWERS in a rave!

Applause for Scott (Who really impressed me! He pulls off a tough role and debunks whatever theories his agents are probably telling him - Enough with the AMERICAN PIE movies already!) and Tim Sharp, who carries the emotional core of the film squarely on his shoulders. Both actors work well together and have a nice chemistry. In addition, the pizza delivery guy is HILARIOUS. I loved the pizza delivery guy! I also loved the guy on Scott's team who inadvertently takes ecstasy in the middle of the job! Very, very funny! And Dave Foley is great as the slimiest but funniest FBI agent I've ever seen!

Go see this film! It's a fun ride!

Hooray for the people in Hollywood who still take chances!

This was a great movie, not a block buster, sure, but a great movie none the less. I just saw it on Showtime and wondered why I didn't see it in the theaters.

Good jobs all around. The directing was excellent and Sean could have carried the movie all by himself, but didn't have to. Sure some of the scenes were predictable and have been done elsewhere, but find me a movie where that isn't true. You have to judge this movie for what it set out to be: a farcical heist film. I predict that those that loved Hudson Hawk will like this movie as well.

MollyMock

The other day me and a friend of mine were discussing Seann William Scott. We were watching evolution and both thought it was great but Sean William Scott is just playing the same character over and over and its gonna end soon if he doesnt do something else. (though I do hope they make an evolution sequel, but not likely) Then my friend was like "well he did have that striaght to video action movie or whatever it was" I was like " geeze straight to video already, he didnt have a chance." It got me very interested, however, since Stark Raving Mad was the only movie Seann Scott had been in I had not seen.

I went and rented the film and me and my friend watched it the next day. What I was was surprised. Here is a film that deserves much better than the straight to video release it got. It has top notch direction, excellent pacing and sets and a truly fitting musical score. This film is a little light on plot but it makes up for it with its excellent characters, I found it truly a pleasure to watch. Seann William Scott really steps up to the plate with this film and brings something new to the table.

I watched the film through with the commentary track the next day and I have to say if you like commentary tracks this one is almost more entertaining than the film itself. If Seann William Scott ever reads this (not that I expect him to) I would want him to know how his enthusiasm for this project and real want to do something different than typical American Pie characters really comes through in the film, I could really tell this was more than a paycheck for Seann. In the immortal words of Seann Scott's co-star Monet Mazur "This movie should be called Stark Raving Fun... 'cause thats what we've been having." lol

Direct to video it seems in North America, while it hit theatres in Europe.

I saw this in a convenience store rental area - DVD for $1.99. The name of the movie's star was written larger than the title of the movie. It reaked of B-movie caliber. The name? Sean William Scott! I liked Sean in Road Trip, Final Destination, Dude Where's My Car and Evolution. His fame though comes from the American Pie movies. You'll also see him in Bulletproof Monk and The Rundown. He hasn't shown a ton of range in his acting ability and the closest he came to carrying a movie was in Dude where he co-starred. He has always done his role effectively though so after a few visits to the convenience store we decided to give him a try.

I didn't expect much, and was shocked by what I viewed. Not only is Sean the star of this movie but he carries this movie with a superb cast, script, and direction. From the beginning to the end this was a classic in the making. From the stop scenes where characters talk to the camera, to the white haired Lou Diamond Phillips, to the Chinese Food delivery guy and further. I laughed and laughed and kept feeling "What a great movie!" Here's the gist you could easily get from the back of the box. They're going to pull a robbery using a Rave as a cover. In the course of the movie, they have many hurdles to overcome. During this, funny stuff happens.

Sean plays the straight guy and a relatively serious role - very different from his other roles. He pulls it off without a hitch. Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns fame) is another surprise. You won't believe how good he is until you see him in this role. Easily the best of Lou I've ever seen. The whole cast was fantastic but I do have to mention Timm Sharp who's character was hard to like, but well developed and acted with precision. One would be remiss not to mention Dave Foley who played a part that was totally unlike anything I've ever seen from him. Truly amazing he was. Like I said, there wasn't a bad actor in the movie.

Drew Daywalt and David Schneider seemed to make great directors and great writers. As Dave Foley said (the gist of it anyway from the DVD extras) - the difference between one director and two directors is that with two director's you have to pretend to listen to TWO people. Dave's humour! This movie is well developed, it has good camera action, and leaves you feeling like you spent two hours wisely.

It's a classic for me and will sit on my shelf proudly displayed while I mention it to everyone who visits!

Pick up the movie!

So I was flicking through the channels late at night and was surprise to see Sean William Scott on screen in a film I didn't recognise (always the best way to watch a film I find - no preconceptions). Anyway, I was intrigued enough to keep watching all the way through to the finish.

Scott is Ben McGewen, a small-time who's having to pay off his murdered brother's debt to gang boss Gregory (Lou Diamond Philips wearing a shockingly white wig and who I only actually recognised just before the end). All he has to do is steal a rare Chinese sculpture for him. Unfortunately the sculpture is locked away in a high-security bank vault. Good thing that Ben has an elaborate plan which involves the putting on a club night in the warehouse next door and a crew of accomplices capable of pulling it off. So long as everything goes to plan of course.

Inevitably, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, but then if it didn't, there wouldn't be much of a film. Their original choice of DJ doesn't show and his replacement isn't too keen on their choice of music, Ben's ex-girlfriend is hanging around and distracting him, there's undercover FBI agents hanging around the club and Gregory is an impatient man.

I'm sure that if I thought about it, I could poke all kinds of holes in the plot and there were a few scene's that fell flat or just seemed to be filling time but I can say I warmed to the film. The main reason would be Scott, who carried the film and for once, wasn't playing a variation on Stifler. The rest of the cast were all unknown to me apart from Diamond-Philips and Dave Folley, who has little more than a cameo as one of the FBI agents though they all played their roles fine. It also made me laugh (especially a line that I will not repeat here as I don't want to upset more sensitive ears). So overall, it was a fun but nothing special.