The Crew

I don't think this movie was given enough of a chance. The cast alone is worth watching the movie for (Jennifer Tilly is one of my favorites; the cast also includes Burt Reynolds, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeremy Piven and Carrie Anne Moss. The jokes are cute and clever, and although it doesn't have the clever wit of a Tarantino, it's still well-timed and hilarious.

I'd never heard of this movie and happened to see it on TV. Now, I'm a hard sell, and I laughed my ass off through half the movie and smiled at the sweet, fairy tale ending that leaves everyone walking away from the movie with warm fuzzies.

And it's not just some mushy piece of sap; it's about old wise guys, so there are plenty of geriatric fist fights and pee jokes for the guys (and for those of us females who appreciate gentle toilet humor too, like me).

So give this movie a chance, is all I'm saying, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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.

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 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. **

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.