Jerry & Tom

This is part of my Scarecrow Video Guide inspired movie-trek, following "Steven Soderbergh's Schizopolis".

"Jerry & Tom" is a fun little black comedy, but it reminded me a little too much of another fun little black comedy..."Coldblooded", starring Jason Priestly & Peter Riegert. (Oddly, Riegert shows up here in a similar role. And, as of now, both films have a 6.7 on IMDb.). I'm not sure which one is lesser known, but they both have something to offer.

"Jerry & Tom" is the "better" film, if only by virtue of the performances. Joe Mantegna is always good, and Sam Rockwell can't lose, IMHO. But nothing much happens here. "Coldblooded" was more fun, as I recall. (It's been at least 7 years since I saw it.) I could tell 10 minutes in that "Jerry & Tom" was based on a play. It's basically a series of conversations, some brilliantly funny, centered around a group of hit men. It would be a great play, but as a film it's a little lacking. There's an amazing series of creative transitions to show time passages (the story takes place over 10 years), and some hilarious flashbacks. But the scenes in between are incredibly slow.

Still, it's hard to fault a film with great actors reading great lines. Aside from Mantegna and Rockwell, Charles Durning is predictably excellent, and William H. Macy shines in a brief role.

Perhaps these two films would make a good double feature. Watch "Jerry & Tom" first and savor it, then have a few drinks and enjoy "Coldblooded".

Next on the trek- "Forbidden Zone"!

A tedious, dialogue-intensive story about the vicissitudes of a mentor/protege hitman team, "Jerry & Tom" is a study in understatement with a pointless plot and an ending which may make you want to "whack" yourself for having watched the whole thing.

1st watched 4/1/2001 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Saul Rubinek): Witty, black comedy with terrific performances by Mantegna and Sam Rockwell. This is the kind of movie that is somewhat of a guilty pleasure because there are times when you're laughing as someone is getting killed or at least in the process of being killed. This is definetly the intent of filmmaker Saul Rubinek where there is a mix of normal guy(who happens to be a hitman)and hitmen(who just happen to own a used car lot). The movie starts out in the present as it appears Jerry and Tom are waiting to "do" another person, and then takes you back ten years to show you how Jerry got involved in the business that Tom already has been doing for many years. There isn't much morality here and really no lessons are taught but that's ok it's just a movie, and a pretty good one at that.

Though forgettable in the long run, while it lasts "Jerry and Tom" is very enjoyable. Never has a movie about two ruthless hitmen had less on screen violence. Neither has brutal killing has ever been executed with such taste. While the humor is decidedly black, it's not morbid. There are many funny moments, but the overall effect is somewhat slight.

What makes it work is the Joe Mantegna/Sam Rockwell duo. They are both fine team players, especially when paired up with an unlikely other half. Rockwell has in the past partnered a variety of characters from uptight John Turturro in "Box of Moonlight" to precocious child Micha Barton in "Lawn Dogs" and always with much subtle off beat humor.

Mantegna is basically a one role actor. It's a turn he does extremely well, but we have seen it all before. Still, watching these two in "Jerry and Tom" is great fun and there's good support from Charles Durning, Ted Danson and Maury Chaykin.

There is a nice sense of whackiness about it all, not only in the dialog and characterization but also in the strange and unique manner in which some of the scenes smoothly segue into each other with unexpected camera moves.

One has to have a morbid sense of humor to enjoy this wry black comedy about two used car salesmen who moonlight as contract killers. The comedy is very tongue in cheek as these two miscreants matter-of-factly whack a dozen or so marked men while bickering over trivialities.

The gag is funny at first, but wears thin as we are treated to minor variations on the same theme for an hour and a half. Other than some innovative scene transitions, the direction by veteran TV director Saul Rubinek was nothing special, except I suppose he made good use of a very limited budget. The story was taken from a play by Rick Cleveland, (`The West Wing' TV series) and Rubinek maintained the theatrical feel using simple sets and concentrating mainly on the actors.

Joe Mantegna is an excellent tough-guy character actor and conjures another terrific mobster. He is a tough but practical murderer who takes the task as strictly business and longs to get out of the game. Sam Rockwell is also good as his dim-witted cohort, who begins to like his work a bit too much. Charles Durning gives a droll performance as an over-the-hill hit man who wants to write a book about his targets. There are also cameos by William Macy, Ted Danson and Peter Riegert.

This is a better than average B movie with some acting performances that are worth seeing. I rated it a 6/10. It is funny in a perverse way, and Mantegna's performance is a treat.