Made

Jon Favreau's 'proper' follow-up to 96's 'Swingers' see's him as part of a double-act with Vince Vaughn. The whole film is based around this double-act, and the various banter that passes between them - mostly ricocheting from Vaughn's outrageously outlandish interactions with everyone he meets, and Favreau's handling of the ensuing situation.

At times this makes for extremely funny entertainment, at other times however it makes for extermely cringe-inducing entertainment. Your not quite sure whether to love Vaughn's antics, or want him dead. Your also left wondering exactly WHAT Vaughn's character helped Favreau's out with in their younger days in order for Favreau to have such as deeply-routed tolerance and understanding for the man.... personally, I would have gotten rid of him years ago.

The story itself takes a backseat because of Vaughn's antics, which is a shame, cause there's some really juicy material in there. I would have loved to see more development between Favreau and his girlfriend, played by Famke Jansen, and also Jansen's daughter. Peter Falk (yes, 'Columbo') is absolutely brilliant as Max, the ageing boss, fully believable and a fully-realised characterisation.

Overall the film fit's together extremely well - the pace is fast, and you do get caught up in it... even during Vaughn's most cringe-worthy moments. Basically if you like 'Swingers' or general crime-capers, you'll love 'Made'.

Well, let me start by saying that as a fan of Swingers, I had high hopes for this film despite its bad reviews. After watching it however, I simply wonder why God, why? This might be the most annoying film that came out since "lights, camera, action" first came from a directors mouth. Vince, please Vince, tell me you owed Jon a favor. The character (sorry, I have permanently stricten the name from my memory) might make you feel happy that you were having your wisdom teeth pulled, and I am still dumbfounded how the Saprano's cast go suckered into the roles they played....In any case...save your money...save your sanity...save yourself....chose life.

Jon Favreau's "Made" is an unusual film. It's ostensibly a comedy, and indeed a lot of it made me laugh hard. Still, when I thought about it later, I realized that I had not really seen a comedy at all. The situation isn't funny, the main character doesn't react to it in a funny way, and the resolution isn't played for laughs. What you get is a straight-laced, sometimes even rather flat kitchen-sink crime drama which Vince Vaughn grabs by the throat and, through the sheer force of his heroically obnoxious portrayal, turns into a bizarre sort of almost-comedy.

Jon Favreau is Bobby, a rather unskilled L.A. club fighter who makes his real living doing odd jobs for Max (a gravelly Peter Falk), the local small-time crime boss. Bobby lives with a stripper (Famke Janssen) who he bodyguards for, but one night a bachelor party guest puts his hands where they shouldn't go, and Bobby lays into him rough. Max is furious, but he likes Bobby, and gives him a chance to right his wrong. He must go to New York, rendezvous with big-cheese crime kingpin Ruiz (Sean "Puffy" Combs), and make some sort of ill-defined "drop". It might all go smoothly...if Ricky wasn't along for the ride.

Ricky is Vince Vaughn's character, and he's like a force of nature..if nature was obnoxious and pushy. He is not the sharpest cheese in the fridge, and he begins acting like a Mafia big shot even before they leave L.A., tormenting their stewardess with stupid questions. He bulldozes hotel valets, waitresses, club bouncers, and pick-ups with the sheer volcanic power of his boorishness, and most of it is actually really funny (not all of it; I actually started to feel bad for the stewardess). Vaughn proved his ability to play charmingly rude in "Swingers", still my pick for the best romantic comedy of the last decade. Here, it's like that film's Trent has been given a sharper suit, a mob expense account, and a small but definitely serious chip on his shoulder. Ricky is the reason "Made" is being called a comedy; he basically provides the picture's only laughs.

The other performers operate on various levels of reality. Favreau is more or less the film's lead character, but he's basically there just to play off Vaughn's disgraceful behavior and act indignant when Ricky gets them in another scrape. Falk is like a caricature of a too-powerful- too-long neighborhood kingpin. Janssen's character is played completely straight, and comes off as unlikable and rather depressing. Oddly enough, the only other actors in the film who really seem to be contributing a humorous atmosphere are Combs and Faizon Love, who plays the boys' liaison to Ruiz. Combs has a surprisingly versatile array of put-upon expressions, and Love's massive bulk and hostile bark of a voice work to scary-amusing effect.

Overall, though, Favreau seems a little shaky on what the tone of his film should be ("Swingers", written by Favreau but directed by Doug Liman, had a confidence that this picture never even approaches). There's lots of gritty hand-held camera from Hong Kong-based lensman Chris Doyle, and the sets' grungy low-rent atmosphere (even the hotels that are supposed to be nice look dark and a bit run-down) make it sometimes feel like we're watching a weird documentary rather than a fiction film, let alone a comedy. Favreau's dialogue is yet another "realistic" display that illustrates, if anyone had any doubts, that the f-word in and of itself is not a punchline. The film has a bummer of an ending followed by an out-of-nowhere epilogue that, quite frankly, I didn't understand.

I guess "Made" is what you'd call a human comedy, a picture where we're supposed to smile with recognition as we see characters not unlike ourselves who find themselves in unbelievable situations and try to deal with them just by being who they are. I'm usually not a big fan of this type of film. If you're calling it a comedy, I'd better be laughing. Still, Vaughn, Combs, and Love provide enough good moments that the picture is worth checking out at least once. Just don't expect "Swingers", and you should be all right.

All I have to say is I saw Made Saturday nite and it was hilarious. I great follow up to Swingers, but please do not expect the same movie. This is a different kind of flick, somewhat of a send up of the old crime/mobster movies. Favreau and Vaughn (especially Vaughn) are in top form, the two have a great chemistry and are a wonderful on screen comedy pair. As a New Yorker I especially liked the fact that this is a New York picture where as Swingers was a West Coast pict. Locales all across the city are used to tell a great tale (indeed one of the funniest scenes in the movie took place right outside the movie theatre). Also, big praise to Peter Falk (perhaps this is an Oscar worthy supporting actor role) who provides many humorous comments and gets the comedy rolling. And P Diddy, Sean Combs... I was ready to hate him, but a funny thing happened, he is excellent in his role as a NYC crime big. Funny movie, funny lines, funny moments. Definitely go seee it - a great follow up to Swingers.

Peter Falk? How can his acting be anything other than a perfect 10? Peter Falk is undeniably `money!' But, he does not make the whole movie, however. Nay, Peter Falk is only one part of what I would call `Swingers with Balls.' Swingers was a great movie, but Made was even better. `Made' is more in your face! Sure Vince Vaughn is more obnoxious in Made, and sure the characters are pretty close to the same as Swingers; nevertheless, I have this distinct feeling that if Made were released first, instead of Swingers, Made would have been the movie people were talking about, and not the other way around. Maybe it is just my personality and my love for the shock value in movies, but I just feel that this one was more on the `money.' Did I mention Peter Falk's great acting? Oh yeah, there is some real talent and dark humor in Jon Favreau's writing and directing. Jon cannot afford to make too many more movies like this one, and I hope he has some other creative colors in his pallet, but only time will tell, and I would love to see some more dark humor from this guy.