Gun Shy

GUN SHY is a peculiar movie, one that purports to have a significant storyline but one that splinters ideas all over the place, leaving the viewer wondering what all the fuss is about.

'Charlie' Mayeaux (Liam Neeson) is a bummed out DEA agent fresh from a bungled case yet given an important assignment to break a Columbian drug cartel represented by Fidel (José Zúñiga) and his boyfriend Estuvio (Michael DeLorenzo). Also caught up in this mélange is the Mafia represented, however reluctantly, by Fulvio Nestra (Oliver Platt), a nerdy but vicious bungler whose temper is uncontrollable, partly due to his insipid belittling wife Gloria (Mary McCormack) whose father demands Fulvio's crime life importance. Charlie is a mess, meets a psychologist who introduces him to group therapy (where Charlie idiotically relates all the DEA secrets openly) and to gastroenterology where nurse Judy (Sandra Bullock) administers a barium enema then other more herbal-sided treatments while she and Charlie become bonded. People are maimed (gunshot castration), killed, made to look foolish, all to the end of supposedly belly laughs on the part of the audience.

True, Neeson shows a flair for comedy and Platt manages to convey a breakthrough role for him, but the rest is a jumbled mess. Made in 2000 with the Twin Towers of New York frequently visible during talk against Arabs and the Middle East, it is easy to see why the timing of this 'yet another Mafia vs law' film contributed to its short theater run (how many have even heard of it?). But in the final analysis it probably failed on its own merits - sad for a film filled to the brim with very fine actors. Grady Harp

GUN SHY (2000) ** Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt, Sandra Bullock, Jose Zuniga, Michael DeLorenzo, Andy Lauer, Richard Schiff, Paul Ben-Victor, Mitch Pileggi, Gregg Daniel, Ben Weber, Mary McCormack, Michael Mantell.

Liam Neeson may not be known for his comic flair in spite of his wide dramatic range in serious films but here he displays a low underwhelming charm that has a distinct world-weary sarcasm that helps make his nearly burnt out federal undercover agent Charlie a somewhat put-upon likable good guy.

Charlie is on the verge of some kind of nervous breakdown ever since a botched assignment nearly got him killed and an aversion to watermelon (he was forced in a compromising position a la a roasted pig during the melee), that unless he can pull himself together the next job may send him over the edge.

That's why while en route to his debriefing for a small-time made man in New York he makes small talk on the plane with a man who turns out to be a therapist and before he knows it is on the couch and later in group therapy with a quartet of stressed businessmen who seem to all share a common thread: fear of repercussions and termination.

Charlie is so bent out of shape in his recovery from his life-threatening incident and the upcoming ploy to oust the violent tempered Fulvio Nesstra (Platt, one of our best comic actors playing it to the hilt a la Paul Sorvino) that the therapist recommend him to a gastrointestinal clinic where in arguably the oddest meet-cute in film history is ministered by the sunny Judy Tipp (wholesomely sexy Bullock, who also produced the comedy) and wind up falling in love with her post-enema treatment (!) What makes the film its own is its blend of the out-of-sort comic elements of Charlie's high stressed work and the group therapy's oddball patients , especially Richard Schiff (best know as the human wishbone in 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' and currently on tv's dramedy 'The West Wing') who is so beyond frazzled at his workplace he has to resort to some bizarre tactics to avoid blurting out a Tourette's Syndromelike spurt of vitriol (at least until the film needs it as a closure).

Maybe because of the unusual hybrid of comedy a la 'Analyze This' with the broad character of Platt's Fulvio and the somewhat sardonic tone of Neeson's Charlie does it mesh often on the mark. Yet the film suffers from trying to balance too much on its scales to begin with but comes across as a game effort with a fine ensemble and clever screenplay by new filmmaker Eric Blakeney.

Give it an A for effort in attempting to make an original spin on a chestnut like the screwball comedy and fish out-of-water genre.

Liam Neeson in a silly comedy? That didnt work out too well.

The bad: this story is simply too silly for my taste. There is a limit to how much silliness I can stumach and this movie crosses that line.

More bad: it's lacking in good jokes as well, although some of the dialogues are quite witty.

Not any good? It has it moments, but only a few good moments. I think actor Oiver Platt was the real comedy actor that made me smile a few times. The rest of the acting performances were mediocre.

The story: Liam Neeson plays an undercover cop, who has gotten anxiety attacks. Will going to a therapy group and getting treatment by a nurse (Sandra Bullock) cure his fears?

'Gunshy' tries to mingle too many things into one and fails. There's the whole 'psychology' aspect, the friends-with-the-gangster theme, the thriller aspect and so on and all try to be part of one story. Blakeney's fails to give it the energy and slickness that it needed. The story drags too much. The romantic track between Judy and Charles is poorly developed. Liam Neeson demonstrates a flair for comedy but it is Oliver Platt and Mary McCormack who steal the show. Their scenes together are some of the best moments of the film. I was also amused by the sequences that involved Charles and his group therapy buddies and the final sequences with the two gay Colombians. Sandra Bullock does not get much scope (ironically, she produced the film). In addition, I loved the soundtrack which is an impressive eclectic mixture.

No wonder Charlie, the man at the center of the film is suffering from the pressures of his job. He has too many things to worry about and all his problems affects his stomach functions producing funny noises at the worst moments. What's an undercover man to do? He gets involved more deeply into trying to do a decent job and in the process, he falls in love with the woman who understands what has to be done to relieve his symptoms.

Erik Blakeney has written and directed a film that should have been seen by a wider audience, yet, this movie came and went without fanfare. It deserved a better fate because of the funny screen play Mr. Blakeney created and the wonderful cast that was gathered for the picture. The problem seems to have been in the marketing. This is clearly not a Sandra Bullock vehicle at all!

Liam Neeson and Oliver Platt are about the best thing going for the movie. Liam Neeson's Charlie is one of the funniest roles he has done in his career. Mr. Neeson tends to gravitate toward more dramatic fare, but as Charlie, he proves he is an accomplished comedian. The same goes for Oliver Platt who plays a bad guy interested in domestic activities such as cleaning a messy kitchen, or even thinking about a life in Italy growing tomatoes.

The minor roles are equally good. Jose Zuniga and Micahel DeLorenzo are hilarious as a pair of gay drug dealers. Sandra Bullock doesn't get as many opportunities in the movie, but she is seen in the pivotal role of Judy. The group therapy sessions involving Charlie and other law enforcing people are fun to watch.

Erik Blakeney shows he can do good work if only he could have the right studio people behind him.