Mon voisin le tueur

Nicholas 'Oz' Oseransky (Matthew Perry) is a meek dentist in Montreal. His wife Sophie (Rosanna Arquette) is a money grubber who may be looking to cash in on his life insurance. His new assistant Jill St. Claire (Amanda Peet) tells him to divorce her. Then notorious mob hit-man Jimmy 'The Tulip' Tudeski (Bruce Willis) moves in next door. He immediately recognizes Jimmy is in danger of a contract kill from Chicago mob boss Janni Pytor Gogolak (Kevin Pollak). Sophie pushes Oz to cash in on the contract and he goes back to Chicago to appease her but not intending to contact Janni. She immediately tells Jimmy to double cross Oz. Oz is confronted by hit-man 'Frankie Figs' Figueroa (Michael Clarke Duncan) who brings him to Janni. Oz falls for femme fatale Cynthia Tudeski (Natasha Henstridge). She tells him that Janni's father Lazlo hid $10M with her before being sent to prison. It can only be accessed with three signatures from her, Janni, and Jimmy. Or else it can be accessed with their death certificates. Janni sends Frankie with Oz back to Montreal to track down and kill Jimmy. Only there are even more double crosses.

My biggest problem with this is director Jonathan Lynn. He doesn't show enough comedic skills in this. There are some good potential but it looks like a second rate movie. This should be so much funnier. It's simply not well filmed. There is also the $10M jackpot. It's way too convoluted and simply a device to give the characters a reason to do what they do. It's backwards writing. Mostly, it's awkward.

The good part is all the good actors around. Most of them are doing their best. Natasha Henstridge is a little stiff. Kevin Pollak isn't as funny as he needs to be. Matthew Perry is working hard and has good chemistry with Bruce Willis. The boys are good with Amanda Peet. Perry has less chemistry with Natasha Henstridge. There are a few laughs. I just wish it has a lot more.

THE WHOLE NINE YARDS (2000) ** Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, Natasha Henstridge, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rosanna Arquette, Kevin Pollak, Harlan Williams.

Matthew Perry is one of my favorite comedic actors in that he's kind of a throwback to the light comedy fare of Jack Lemmon and Tom Hanks: handsome, charming and an utter neurotic mess with a sharp self-deprecating wit with his nonchalant sarcastic jibing that is all play and totally harmless, with a twist of slapstick. Here all of that is on display with a finely tuned tailor made character not unlike his tv alter ego, Chandler Bing (love that name!) from `Friends'.

Oz Oseransky is a mild-mannered affable dentist whose life is in flux when his trampy French accented wife Sophie (Arquette in full blown voluptuosness) decides she wants to end their marriage. But not by the usual traditional method of divorce or anulment; instead she takes out a contract on his life Enter newly arrived next-door-neighbor Jimmy `The Tulip' Tudeski (Willis in barely restrained comic form) a hitman keeping it low since there's a contract on him by a really ticked off Russian thug (Pollak oozing Eurotrash unctuousness). But when Oz's wife approaches him he is hard-pressed to do what comes natural since Oz turns out to be the good neighbor he never had and an unlikely ally as things progress in the plotline that eventually involves Jimmy's estranged, va-va-va voom wife Cynthia (Henstridge, best known as the sexy alien in the `Species' sci-fi flicks) who wants a divorce but knows that it's more likely a hit would be necessary.

Meanwhile Oz is struck by love at first sight when he meets Mrs. Jimmy and winds up bedding her (in spite of the fact he knows who Jimmy is after some hilarious reaction shots as the story moves on with each new trickle of information on his new `friend'), which only complicates things when Jimmy announces he is going to `whack' her and Janni, the mad Russian.

Perry is a marvelous reactionary actor and plays very well off a unique ensemble including the babelicious Peet as Jill, his receptionist- turned - assassin - wannabe , who has a knack for displaying her natural assets to dissuade any potential violent threat and Duncan (recently nominated for a Best Supporting Actor as the gentle giant in `The Green Mile') has a sweet low-key turn as the hulking pal of Willis who provides some funny sight gags (including his first meeting with Perry who literally bounces off this wall of a man).

Yet no matter how game the cast is - including off the wall comic Harland Williams as another seedy character who doesn't appear to be who he claims to be - and the fast pace of the storyline, there aren't that many memorable lines of dialogue or full grasp that a lethal killer like Jimmy actually has a heart of gold for the likes of a schnook like Oz.

It would be easy to blame the less than compelling story line on screenwriter Mitchell Kapner (who gives an original spin on a plot twist and complex scenario involving dental records and a corpse) or director Jonathan Lynn (`My Cousin Vinny'), but both make the best overall. It just isn't a fresh idea (think of `The In-Laws' which set the high water mark for odd couple/fish-out-of-water hybrid with a criminal element) that seems to hook the attention of a much needed audience. But it is divertingly fun just to see Perry slamming himself silly like a pinball.

Perry is an unhappy dentist stuck in a dead marriage and burdened with financial problems; as if that isn't bad enough, he learns that his new neighbor is in fact an infamous contract killer with reprehensible mob ties. Against his better judgment, Perry decides to try and rat out the lowlife for his own personal gain, but soon gets in over his head. The film's humor is occasionally too silly for words, but the cast is good and full of enthusiasm—especially Peet—and the script throws out a lot of unexpected twists and turns at just the right moments. Surprising and very funny, with a perfect part for Willis who finds just the right tone for a gangster with heart. ***

I rented The Whole Nine Yards a few days ago, and just watched it this morning, I'm such a huge Bruce Willis fan, I don't see him that often in comedies, so I was curious how this would work. But after viewing this film, I have to just say that this movie was just so funny! I couldn't believe how much it made me laugh, I know it's such a dark subject, but it was pretty cool how they just turned into a zanny comedy. Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry were just the most perfect choices, they were like ying and yang. Matthew as this guy who just is scared of everything and finally has something at the end to say where he has control and Bruce couldn't have been a more perfect choice as the cocky and yet charismatic hit man who could be threatening but yet the most likable guy in the world. The story was just very clever and worked so well with the cast.

Nick is just your average guy, he is a dentist and a very likable guy, but he gets walked on quite a bit, especially by his wife who he feels like he owes her family, so he won't divorce her. But one day, a new neighbor moves in, Nick notices him pretty much off the bat, it's Jimmy "the tulip" Tudeski, the famous hit man who has killed 17 people and also ratted out his boss. He's on the run from his boss in Chicago and has a ransom on his head. Nick actually likes Jimmy, but his wife, Sophie, says to turn him in and get the award. He goes to Chicago and falls in love with Jimmy's wife, Cynthia. When Nick comes back home to Canada, he learns from Jimmy that his wife has gone to hire a hit man to kill Nick. But Nick also learns that Jimmy wants to kill Cynthia, Jimmy's boss wants to kill Nick, Nick's receptionist is also a hit woman, pretty much everyone wants to kill everyone.

That's pretty much the best way to sum up The Whole Nine Yards, but trust me when I say that this is such a fun movie. I really had a good time watching this movie, Bruce Willis was just so great. But I have to admit that Amanda Peet's performance floored me when she was just admiring Bruce's work and getting advice from him on what her first hit should be like. She was just so adorable while being deadly. So please, I would recommend this film, it's a dark comedy, yes, but it's all good, just learn to let go and have fun if you're very sensitive on the subject.

7/10

Time is 2000. Bruce Willis fresh off 'the Fifth Element'. An on-form Matthew Perry fresh off 'Friends'. This is a crime-comedy with all the goods from either world, and it's done *just right*. The plot is good, and the film's got that typical contorted type story at the middle of it linking many different characters, but still absolutely coherent and compelling. Perry really is very funny in this one, and it's about to be one crazy ride for this prude of a dentist when an ex- big time conman is his neighbor and he finds out who he is and somehow finds himself involved. This is a crazy ride, with lots of great fun and action, good laughs, a good atmosphere between tight tension and comedy relief, the supporting cast is great, and the plots within the plots are strong enough to make this a fairly layered piece of genre-hybrid cinema. Just all in all, an excellent comedy.