Restitution

I was - whatever - absorbed?

PI unearths plot, and pays the price. OK. It wasn't too noir, wasn't over-hip. Mena Suvari (bra on sex scene contract not withstanding) was real, and genuine, and it could almost have been a romcom. (I don't think I've ever had a sex scene with bras on, personally).

And then, it just suddenly revives. A new character, a new phase, act 2.

And then, suddenly, Act 3. People stop being who they were, and use guns. Who knew? Even, when it all calms down, another twist, and we have act 3.1.

My son-in-law is the acid test. If there are plot holes, he disses the film, and I wish I hadn't suggested it.

This got a 'pass' on his radar, (though he agreed with the 'stupid no tits rule'.

Worth a look. I was surprised, a few times. And that no longer happens often.

I don't think I've ever seen choreography of action sequences this sloppy or acting this horrible. Talk about low rent! (Starting off a review like this, you know what's coming is bad. But read on!) By the way, has Tom Arnold fallen this far from A-List? Come to think of it, was he ever really A-List?

Anyway, Restitution is a film directed and co-written by Lance Kawas. If you've never heard of him, don't beat yourself up too badly. Nobody has... (Moving on!)

The film follows the actions of a rookie author, Alex Forrester, as he lands in a sleepy town on Lake Michigan trying to uncover the truth behind a pair of odd killings committed by a highly intrusive, but otherwise decent, insurance investigator. The insurance investigator then ends up dead, himself. Forrester intends to write a book on his findings, but if he digs too deep, he might end up dead just like the insurance investigator.

There are a few plot twists along the way as we build up to the climax and then there's a final plot twist at the very end that puts everything that precedes it into perspective. Some savvy viewers might call the big plot twist way before the ending. If you do call it, then get up and pop in another movie right away! If others are still watching, quickly leave the room and find something else better to do. Like watching a cup of ice melt. Why? Because despite the horrible directing, acting, dialog, cinematography, and everything else, the plot was the only thing remotely interesting Restitution had going for it. So, if you figure it out before the ending, you'll be really angry because nothing else is worth the wait. Furthermore, I don't even think the ending was a big enough payout for the prolonged suspense the writers created to get to the end result.

Another major problem is Kawas' inability to commit to a specific genre, especially early on. At times I didn't know if I was watching a comedy, a mystery, a lost footage film, or even a spoof flick. Directing 101: it's hard for an audience to take a film seriously if they're too confused about what direction the "director" is taking them.

I think if this film had been given a larger budget and great writers that would have tweaked the ending and delivered decent dialog, it could have been a hit. The plot had plenty of potential. However, suspense and a decent plot aside, everything else about this film screams "low rent" to the 10th power. It stinks!

"I liked him, I just can't believe he killed those people." After an insurance investigator is killed and blamed for a string of murders a writer comes into town to write a book on the events. Talking to his girlfriend and his new neighbor he begins to uncover secrets that may lead to his innocence. This movie seems better then it is. The acting is passable...but with Tom Arnold giving the best performance that should help you with the quality involved. Besides the performances the editing was very strange and seemed very choppy. But all that aside this movie was very ordinary and kinda boring. For an action movie this was not full of action and was rough to get through. All that being said I have seen worse. Overall, worth watching only if you love action movies more then any other genre. I give it a C-.

*Also try - Blood Out

The plot: A stoic writer investigates the mysterious death of his former partner, an immature private eye who was investigating insurance fraud.

This is a hilariously inept movie, full of cringe-inducing writing, bad acting, and bad directing. I don't know what WHAT they were thinking, except that someone somehow got enough money together to tempt some B movie actors into making a vanity project. Unsurprisingly, it was terrible. Surprisingly, I still liked it. For me, this is one of those "so bad it's good" movies. I don't know. I can't really validate my rating, except to say that Tom Arnold was actually pretty good in this movie.

Restitution is a little bit boring at the beginning, but it starts to get more interesting later on. It never really gets any better, but, if you're like me, that's not really a big issue. I'm willing to watch anything, as long it's not boring... even clichéd, derivative junk like this.

If you enjoy bad movies, check this out. It's got some gloriously bad dialogue, plus it sometimes seems a little, tiny bit self-aware, with an ironic or cheesy scene. It's not much, but it does soften the blow of all that non-ironic ineptitude. If you're looking for something legitimately good, avoid. Avoid like the plague. Do not watch. You will only be disappointed. This movie is only for Tom Arnold fans (do these exist -- if so, I may hesitantly consider myself one), bad movie fans, and people who are very bored.

I never thought I'd be saying this, but Tom Arnold completely out-acts everybody else in this movie. This includes Sadler and Suvari, who are simply outclassed.

But I'm willing to accept that all the B-list actors just needed a paycheck, and that Bierlin needed a vanity project. What I can't handle is that, like many of the scripts nowadays, this is just so poorly and incomprehensibly written. Bierlin continuously paints himself into corners and then introduces some ridiculous plot turn or event to get his characters free.

Not recommended.