With Friends Like These...

This is a pretty good 'slice-of-life' comedy. It revolves around four male actors who become captivated by the prospect of auditioning for the part of Al Capone in Martin Scorsese's next production. The Los Angeles actors' lifestyle is chronicled here, with several ironic references to familiar themes: nobody can keep their mouth shut, times are tough, and everybody is out for themselves.

"With Friends Like These" has flaws. It doesn't have as many laughs as it should, and the 'feel-good' parts of the film don't come off quite right. There is some comedy here, and some drama, but the the two aren't integrated well. The characters are knowingly painted as self-absorbed, except for Amy Madigan's character, who has a penchant for charity work. What saves the film is a fairly good script, some good ensemble work by the cast, and a brisk tempo that keeps the film hopping along.

The film's second half is better than its first, and I enjoyed the end quite a bit. David Strathairn is one of the great underrated American actors, and he has a lot to do with the film gaining momentum. Elle MacPherson is good too, as she is given something to do besides just look ravishing. She always does that well, but it's nice to see her get a chance to act.

Other nice touches were Scorsese himself appearing in one of the pivotal final scenes, and some nice work between Strathairn and his girlfriend, played by Lauren Tom. This film isn't a classic, but it is about people rather than robots or a serial killer, and it doesn't insult the intelligence of people over 20 years old. Rating 7/10.

What a great cast! A lot of favorites like David Strathairn, Laura San Giacomo and Bill Murray; and some that really gave great performances like Robert Costanzo and Amy Madigan, made this an enjoyable comedy.

It was hilarious to see those that were supposedly "friend" jump at the chance to stab each other in the back to get a part in a Scorsese film.

Friendship only goes so far when you are a struggling actor and haven't had a good part. Fortunately, things do sometimes work out and friends can be friends again.

A stellar cast made this a film that really should have gotten a lot more notice and respect.

A not too bad effort at chronicling the life and hard times of barely working character actors in Los Angeles. I never know when I check out one of these low budget indies if I am going to be pleasantly surprised or grievously disappointed, so it's always nicer to be the first.

Some fine character actors on display, including David Straithairn, Amy Madigan, Adam Arkin, Beverly D'Angelo and an uncredited Bill Murray (pre-Lost in Translation). The story is a little light, even for a comedy, and doesn't really hit many strong notes, but it's nice to see something about those actors whose faces are always familiar to us and yet we rarely know their names. There is a particularly nice turn at the end, when each actor auditions for a "dream part" in a Scorcese film (the elusive goal driving the plot), and we suddenly see them as talented professionals, not goofballs and losers. This is very well done and a nice, satisfying end to the film.

If there is a major flaw -- and this is a flaw in a lotta movies -- these marginally successful actors are all depicted as living like Hollywood royalty. Big, stylish houses that would cost upwards of $1 million in So Cal! And yet these actors are clearly described as "out of work", sometimes for over a year. Get real! A real out-of-work character actor is probably living in a one bedroom apartment and lucky if he doesn't have a roommate at that! Still, as someone else wrote, it's nice anymore these days to see a movie about something besides a giant monster, space alien, things blowing up or CGI graphics. So thumbs up!

This original, warm, funny and biting satirical comedy shows us the ups and downs of four character actors in Los Angeles. Their friendships are tested when Martin Scorsese comes to LA to cast "Capone" his new (and fictional) project. A lively, hilarious script is balanced by full, three dimensional performances from the well known faces (particularly the always brilliant David Strathairn), and there are some great cameos to boot.

I just saw this film in its 2005 re-release. It's really a fun little film, with quite a few laughs and lots of great moments among a really amazing, well-chosen cast.

It's so much smarter than the average Hollywood film -- which may have been its problem when released?! Who knows why studios do what they do -- and apparently, they didn't do this film justice in 1998 (after all, it has an ensemble cast where -- gasp -- no one is under 30!)

As both a writer and an Italian-American, I got perhaps an extra kick out of the story, which is about survival in Hollywood for these four actor characters and their families -- but the film's humor and theme of friendship is truly universal.