The Crew

There are good parts and there are bad parts in "The Crew." The good stuff is that all four geezers in the movie are consistently amusing, Jennifer Tilly has never looked better (maybe her cleavage has something to do with that), it's good to see Carrie-Anne Moss in something other than "The Matrix," and the general level of humor is funny even though we've seen it a million times. On the bad side, it's much too short to make a lasting impact, poor Jeremy Piven is stuck in a thankless role, too many jokes are aimed at the same target, and too much time passes between major gut-busters. Still, Richard Dreyfuss and Burt Reynolds get their share of laughs, even though the cleavage gets all the attention.

I was positively intrigued to see such a wide divergence of opinion on this flick; I can't recall ever seeing such a split opinion in this space. Therefore I will offer the moderate observation that, while being far from the cleverest comedy I've seen, the movie isn't all that bad. The script is not a particularly witty effort, but the tangled web that these 4 retired hoods spin for themselves becomes progressively more intriguing. (I would note that the arson technique portrayed must be taken with about a pound of salt) The sentimental sub-plot about the missing daughter is unnecessary and dilutes the comedy (though, mercifully it's not played up very big). Altogether, not a cause for raves, but not as bad as some here say.

Solid performances by Richard Dreyfuss and (especially)Burt Reynolds make this an enjoyable summer flick. There are enough sub-plots to keep you wondering, but the story is easy enough to follow. Lots of inside jokes about Italian, Jewish and senior citizen culture in Miami will provide more chuckles than the obvious, physical humor. Look for your favorite mob-character actor among the ensemble in the finale.

I saw this movie a couple years ago and I just saw it again when it was on television recently. Back when this movie was released, the mafia theme was hotter than ever for movies and television shows thanks to the success of the HBO show THE SOPRANOS. Several movies about or involving the mob were released, none of which were particulary good. THE CREW was one of those movies. It was a box office dud, earning just $13 million on a budget of $38 million. The movie was pretty much forgotten after disappearing from theaters, yet it continues to be shown on cable constantly. The movie has its moments and Jeremy Piven is great as always, but other than that, there is nothing recommendable about THE CREW. I expected better considering the screenplay was done by one of the guys who wrote KINGPIN. **

I figured I'd rent this movie since you all know I'm a big Burt Reynolds fan. Well it was somewhat of a dissapointment but at the same time, it did have its funny moments. Burt was always funny, this one he was okay but it wasn't as good. It was pretty funny when he worked at Burger King. The actors did a good job, it's just that it wasn't the most entertaining flick. 6/10