2 Days in the Valley

1st watched 2/5/2000 - (Dir-John Herzfeld): Interesting mish-mash of characters who all eventually fit together amidst violent crimes started by a man who seems to be used to this line of work. Despite the obvious muddle-filled lives we are able to pick out those that we route for and they seemed to win out in the end. Interesting small film with many big names.

2 DAYS IN THE VALLEY (1996) *** James Spader, Danny Aiello, Eric Stoltz, Jeff Daniels, Paul Mazursky, Teri Hatcher, Charlize Theron, Marsha Mason, Glenne Headly, Greg Cruttwell, David Carradine, Peter Horton, Louise Fletcher, Austin Pendleton. "Pulp Fiction" meets "Short Cuts" best describes this fun, exciting and leisurely paced comedy/crime thriller with a dozen characters crossing over into each others' paths during 48 hours of murder, suicidal tendencies and the usual California angst of the San Fernado Valley. Great ensemble cast all obviously having fun and one helluva cat fight between Amazonian Theron and buxom Hatcher! Oh mama!

In addition to the clever plot and delicious acting you get to see very early work by Charlize Theron and James Spader, either of which is worth your time. All of the characters are full-fledged characters, with not a weak link in the chain; and those playing those characters all make the best of it. It's a true ensemble cast, with no one -- with the possible exception of Spader, having a lead role. The story is full of twists, surprises and turnabouts enough to flesh out two or three movies. You can tell that all of these fine actors are enjoying playing the quirky characters we are presented with to make this a true fun romp.

Writer-director John Herzfeld's mining of the multi-layered, heavily populated neo-crime genre sparked by the popularity of Pulp Fiction is an above average, if workmanlike, movie that should satisfy most aficionados of the style. Weaving together the stories of more than half a dozen interesting denizens of the San Fernando Valley, Herzfeld makes the most of his situations, allowing talented performers like Danny Aiello, Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels to show-off their chops. Additionally, Paul Mazursky shines as the depressed, suicidal director Teddy Peppers and Charlize Theron delivers an electrifying turn that should have made her a big star.

Two Days In The valley really nailed me to my seat,at first I only rented it to see my favorite new actress Charlize Theron(Helga). Then as the movie started and I saw Danny Aiello(Desmo)and James Spader (Lee) staking out a house I thought it had to be cops checking out drug dealers or something along that line and I was wrong. Then as the other characters appeared in the movie and the story started going in a different direction then I figured it would I was shocked by the way things came out and knew this was one of the best Dramas I've seen in years. It's a must see kinda movie and must have do to all the great and weird acting in it. out of three stars I give it ****.