The Gristle

I watched this movie on cable three times. My boyfriend and I laughed through the whole thing. Although it was a little slow in the beginning, and the ending left us hanging, we still found it refreshingly fun. Of course, we could tell it was probably a newbie director with a less polished presentation than some other movies, but we looked beyond that and really appreciated the humor, actors and twists in the movie. I do not think it was canned and predictable, or cliché. It had a certain kind of humor that you see in movies, but it was handled well. I didn't compare it to other movies. I just enjoyed it. In fact, the characters were disarmingly human at times, given the plot of the show. I didn't get all the twists in the plot the first time through, but that was okay. I loved this show. I loved the actors. I think it is a great effort from a new group. In fact, I am looking for a copy on DVD to add it to my library. So, my recommendation is that people watch it and enjoy the ride.

I watched "Gristle" primarily for the presence of Michael Dorn, as I enjoyed his Worf portrayal on Star Trek TNG, but had never seen him out of his makeup. Dorn appears to have a nice presence, and probably has the potential for a profitable acting career. This movie, however, gave him little dramatic challenge, except to prove that he can, indeed, use the "F" word.

It appears that this movie was made by someone who fancied himself as a forward-thinking type, with a social conscience. Yeah--- for 1965. Today, the themes are so belabored and sophomoric and cornball that even Spike Lee's dreadful "Bamboozled" looks good in comparison.

This crime-caper flick has an intricate labrynth of double-, triple-, and quadruple-crosses, but the plot scheme is so convoluted that it collapses upon itself within the first 30 minutes. Mostly, after that point, I simply watched out of momentum, and a mild curiosity about how each scene would play out. There is a great cast here-- you will recognize virtually everyone as a character actor from much better movies. Why are they all in this? I suspect it was 1) The work, and some money, even if modest. 2) Perhaps the director knows all these actors from acting classes and social connections around LA--- you know, perhaps they participated to support him, as a fellow struggling movie guy on the third and fourth tiers of the Hollywood scene. Dunno... but the movie was half-baked--- not really "finished." I gave it a 3, although my affection for the actors involved was undiminished from my admiration of their previous work. Let's hope everybody has moved on to more professional, more carefully done, and more thorough projects since.

I really liked this movie! The script was very funny and the actors, although most are pretty much unknown, delivered the lines well. I found myself laughing out loud frequently throughout the movie.

Michael Dorn is best known as Commander Worf from the Star Trek series, and that character is very stiff and rigid. In this movie Michael got to show a different side, and I feel that he pulled it off very well.

This movie has several subplots working together at once, and when these plots intersect it makes for some pretty funny events. The most pervasive element of the film is the racial undercurrents taking place between four different duos - two black men; one black and one white man; two Cuban men; and two white men. Most of the characters are dealing with illicict merchandise of one form or another, and some of the other supporting characters weave in and out of the plot fairly seemlessly.

I had not previously heard of this film, which tells me that many other folks have not heard of it either. That is really a shame, because I was very pleasantly surprised by the film. I would like to say that this movie is not all comedy, and definitely deserves the R rating for the content and language. Not much gore to speak of, although it certainly is present off camera. It is refreshing to see a movie that doesn't rely on blood and guts to get the point across, leaving the specifics of the gore to the viewers imagination.

Overall I would give this movie a 7 or 8 on a ten-point scale and recommend it highly. I will definitely add this one to my DVD collection. Folks who like Quentin Tarrantino movies should like this, but much more for the witty dialog than the violence. It is also reminiscent of films by Kevin Smith, such as Clerks or Mallrats, in the sense of the witty dialog and quirky characters.

My brother and I watched this film together, on HBO 2. Actually, we had a bicoastal film viewing. It is the sort of thing that we have always reserved for the finest in quirky film making. How does a movie like this ever get made? The comedy of errors, and concurrently botched confidence schemes lead to hilarious results. We would have spent our hard earned, and stolen, last $110K, to make it as well.

We are certain of the reasons that this film is not popular. It is way too silly, but that gives it its quality, and makes room for it on our video shelves as a potential classic (see "Better Off Dead", "Hollywood Shuffle", "Soul Man" and "Fear of a Black Hat").

Words can scarcely describe this movie. Loaded with ridiculous stereotypes, a silly plot, and poor music, this movie lacks in just about every category.

Don't be fooled by the IMDB credits. This is not a Michael Dorn movie. He's a secondary character in the grand scheme.

Also listed in the Credit's is an actor named "Prince" - which makes me wonder if it's the same artist formerly known as.... Then again, I'm not sure this movie is worth watching just for that.

Big summary... bunch of teams... one has kidneys... one has $35,000.... one has an "Illegal Substance".... and one has $350,000. Add some confusion and mixups as to who needs to meet who, revenge on being taken, and such, and you end up with this mess of a movie.

Given a choice, I'd pass on this movie.