Desert Moon

Released in 1996, "Mojave Moon" is a black comedy/thriller about an average man in his 50s (Danny Aiello) who is so intrigued by a young woman (Angelina Jolie) that he agrees to drive her to her mom's place in the desert. He then becomes infatuated with the blissful and clueless mother (Anne Archer), but her loony boyfriend looms near (Michael Biehn).

"Mojave Moon" has that quirky, hip flare of movies of the mid-to-late 90s, like "Pulp Fiction", "Michael", "The Way of the Gun" and "American Psycho". If you have a taste for these types of films you might like "Mojave Moon."

Those who want to catch a good glimpse of Angelina Jolie early in her career will also be interested. She was only 20 during filming, but brimming with confidence and allure. She has quite a few scenes where she's not wearing much, including a shower scene that shows her top-nude. I can understand why some might get worked-up about her, but she doesn't trip my trigger. Don't get me wrong, she has an exotically gorgeous face with full lips, but the rest of her is just too slinky for my tastes. But if you find her appealing that's wonderful.

BOTTOM LINE: "Mojave Moon" is mildly entertaining as a bizarre black comedy/thriller. I had a few good laughs, but it struck me as curious more than anything else, with characters who don't ring true and do unbelievable things. Take, for instance, the gas station attendant who foolishly engages in a gunfight right out in the open or the ensuing gunfight where no one hits anyone even though they're all fairly close. The film's full of these "yeah, right" moments. Still, it's not bad. It tries to be different.

The film runs 95 minutes and was shot in Palmdale, CA.

GRADE: C+

Many times movies that are determined to be off-the-wall wind up going splat! but this one works OK. Danny Aiello plays an ordinary Joe hanging out with his friends at a coffee shop when in walks a sexy young woman (Angelina Jolie) who may as well have a blinking neon sign around her neck saying TROUBLE! The boys put Danny up to flirting with her and amazingly, she responds. Obviously she wants something from this guy and that something is a ride to her home, a trailer out in the desert.

When they get there, things start to get weird. Mom (Anne Archer) is a breathy-voiced version of a 50's sitcom mother, and there's this incongruous, menacing biker (Michael Biehn) at the trailer with her. Who is this guy, a boyfriend? Houseguest? Husband? If he knows what's good for him, Danny should say goodbye and step on the gas, but he hangs around too long and gets involved with all sorts of madness and freaky characters.

Some people will reject this film out of hand as being too stupid or weird and others will say it doesn't go far enough. A group in the middle will find it nicely out of the ordinary and modestly entertaining. Aiello is rather subdued as befits a befuddled guy who's into something way over his head and Jolie is verrry sexy.

Not the best movie ever made, and it probably won't overwhelm you with its powerful storyline. But take it for what it is, a quirky, off-the-wall caper/romance/black comedy hybrid, and chances are you'll be quite pleasantly surprised. The protagonists are likable, the villains are cartoonish, and in the end the solid acting all around (I never realized what a good actor Danny Aiello can be) made this little low-budget noir almost believable, or at least endearing. And yes, the scenes with Angelina Jolie are on their own worth the price of admission - watch her electrifies the screen with every flick of a emerald-nail-polished finger and every mocking little grin. And you say to yourself, Man this girl is going to be a STAR...

Incidentally I think this is probably her best work before 1997's George Wallace, for which she won a Golden Globe. It's also probably the source of her fascination with Barstow...

I knew nothing about this film going in. For the first third, it seems to be a regular, if predictable drama/thriller. Then it morphs into a completely unpredictable black comedy. I thought "what the hell?" but stuck with it. I ended up liking it, but you have to be able to swallow some ridiculous scenes and characters. I felt like it had a cast of excellent actors working with a ludicrous script.

I caught "Mojave Moon" several times on cable but I didn't care about it. I even came to IMDb back in the late 90's and nobody commented about it. It was somehow a rare, obscure independent movie that gained notoriety when Jolie received her first (and only) Oscar. I caught it on a so called art channel.

To be honest, it wasn't until Angelina Jolie made her on-screen appearance with the shortest mini skirt I've ever seen on movies! That girl was stunning.

Then I got hooked in by the plot although it is very strange.

The movie has the typical situations involving a trouble girl that gets everyone in problems and ends up making everybody fool.

To be honest, if it wasn't for Jolie's sexyiness this movie would be still hidden.