I due criminali più pazzi del mondo

"Crimewave" is a bizarre film, written by the Coen Brothers and directed by Sam Raimi. The plot is just strange... two criminals kill the owners of an alarm company and then begin killing the witnesses to the crime. Done in slapstick comedy style...

This film has Sam Raimi written all over it. His crazy zoom camera shots, the inclusion of Bruce Campbell as "the heel"... and the very over-the-top silliness. The only other time the Coens really tread this path was with "The Hudsucker Proxy" (which is, in all fairness, the better film)... and that, too, had Raimi's involvement.

I suggest this film is worth seeing. While not the Coens' best, not Raimi's best, it's an interesting little film, bizarre, and a good showcase of early work from those involved.

When I first saw this film, I neither knew nor cared who the Coen Brothers or Sam Raimi were.

Probably a good thing, really. I now identify the goofy, cartoonish elements with 'Raising Arizona' and the violence with 'Bottom' or 'Itchy & Scratchy', but I do remember laughing like a drain at this strangely unhinged melodrama.

The rodent-like Brion James and the brutish Paul L.Smith are excellent slapstick hoods, Louise Lasser has a brittle classic glamour and Reed Birney (who I've never seen in anything else) is the wide-eyed, hopelessly romantic loser who would be totally out of his depth in a puddle, let alone the troubles that come to him in this story.

Being a Sam Raimi film, Bruce Campbell is present, in a splendidly oily performance as a total heel. According to one of Bruce's books, making the film was a tough job for various reasons, but the result, while not a classic, is definitely worth your time.

Okay, it's directed by Sam Raimi, co-written with the Coen brothers, and features both Bruce Campbell and the late Brion James, so what are you waiting for?! RENT IT NOW! Raimi may have disowned this because it was taken out of his hands, but this shouldn't put you off. That kinda thing happens way to much (see the films of Peckinpah,Orson Welles or Donald Cammell). We can't judge the Crimewave that COULD have been just the one we have, and guess what, it's a damn funny, clever, black comedy with enough "action" to please both the popcorn movie brigade and Roadrunner fans. The film is nearly ruined by the uncharismatic lead couple, but that is more than made up for the star turns by James and Paul Smith as a couple of psycho exterminators, and Campbell as a "charming" Lothario. Fans of 30s/40s comedies and musicals ( Emil Sitka doesn't have a cameo for nothing), the more slapstick parts of Evil Dead 2 and Army Of Darkness, the zanier Coen Bros ( think Raising Arizona or Hudsucker Proxy) or Stanley Tucci's The Imposters should enjoy this zany fun. Oh, and wait til you see the door slamming chase sequence! All this and Louise Lasser too.

This movie is SO cartoony it is painful to watch, and I AM a fan of Raimi, Campbell and the Coens. The bad guys' dubbed voices are so annoying I considered just turning it off, which I NEVER do. Campbell was the only decent thing about this movie, and he has a relatively small role. If you are considering seeing this movie, just read the memorable quotes section of this website instead.

An actress loaded on cocaine, demanding to do her own makeup, and doing a terrible job of it. An actor distracted by battling spectres of his ex-wife. An actor dubbed over. Soon to be Hall of Fame directors/writers battling the studio at every turn. B-list hero Mr. Chin forced into a background role. All of this combined to make a ridiculous movie, and yet, all that behind-the-scenes chaos added to the movie's Live Action Looney Tunes charm.

Bruce was supposed to have the lead role, but the movie would have had a very different feel and maybe less enjoyable. His scenes in a supporting role are a blast, but I would actually have liked to see him as the main baddie. That would have added some more oomph and brought in flavor from the more wacky parts of Evil Dead.

The plot is, who cares, they didn't. Watch for the silly violence, some enjoyable cinematography (the hallway of doors scene was like ASMR for the eyeballs), and some solid one-liners.

It did take me a bit to warm up to this film as I went into it not knowing anything about it, but once I accepted that it wasn't going for any one genre, and just being ridiculous wacky fun, I settled in and enjoyed the ride. It is also a pleasure to watch Chuck Norris's TV wife adding some gravitas when Bruce was absent.