Dallas 362

Saw the premiere of this film at the CineVegas Film Festival. It was written, directed, and co-stars Scott Caan. Its the stylishly shot, very well written story of two friends in their mid-20's who are aimlessly drinking and bar brawling their time away. One of them, Rusty (Shawn Hatosy) is beginning to recognise the futility of their lifestyle while Dallas (Caan's character) seems to be headed only deeper into trouble. Rusty has support from his mother (played by Kelly Lynch) and a therapist (well done by Jeff Goldblum). Mom and the therapist are romantically involved adding a funny and bizarre twist to the story. No spoilers here - this is all revealed in the first reel. This film stands out because of the writing and the acting. Caan's semi-autobiographical screenplay is laced with lines that made the audience laugh out loud - dialogue original enough that it seems to come from real life, not a Hollywood script factory. There are a few scenes intended to 'reveal' character that drag a bit. The fine cast is capable of doing with less, not more writing. Caan told the screening audience that he wrote the movie in about a month - yet it seems to be one of those first screenplays that was years in the making. Either way, it led to a film that's far better than 90% of the stuff now showing at your local mutiplex. It deserves to be picked up for theatrical distribution followed by a long run on one of the premium movies channels. Please, Hollywood: More of this and less of 2 Fast 2 Dumberer.

If you're expecting a masterpiece in cinema you might be disappointed with Dallas 362. This film doesn't dazzle you with witty one-liners or gratuitous sexual or violent content, it simply tells a story by utilizing a solid script and the tremendous talent of it's cast. Caan and Hatosy are fantastic as a pair of "us against the world" buddies who drink too much, fight too much and aren't quite sure where life is taking them. Even more impressive however is the performance by Val Lauren. His immense talent as a stage actor really comes through in his portrayal of Christian, an overly-neurotic problem gambler who thinks that the world is conspiring against him. Some may find his character annoying, but to me he was absolutely the most enjoyable part of this film. Jeff Goldblum and Kelly Lynch help to round out this brilliant cast and make Dallas 362 a truly enjoyable story. With the proper amount of emotion and real-life dialogue, Scott Caan creates a very unique independent film that does not get the recognition it deserves. If you're a fan of the genre give this one a chance, you might be pleasantly surprised.

In Scott Caan's first feature, Dallas 362, you can see the same thing as was seen in his first play ('Almost Love'), the raw elements of a budding talent. Caan, son of actor James Caan, wrote and directed the deceptively simple buddy movie and in which he also stars along with Shawn Hatosy, Jeff Goldblum, and Kelly Lynch. The film, shot on a low budget on Locations in LA, manages to create a world of its own, and one in which you finally care about these flawed characters, and without falling into any of a number of possible clichés of this kind of filmmaking.

The film follows two close friends, Rusty (played by Hatosy) and Dallas (Caan), who call themselves `brothers' and are constantly becoming involved in bar fights, repeatedly being bailed out of jail by Rusty's mother, played by Kelly Lynch. Rusty wants to grow up but can't seem to break out of this pattern. Goldblum plays the mother's boyfriend who is a therapist and begins seeing Rusty as a favor to his mother. The obvious complications of this triangle come out early and are resolved in a very honest and truthful manner, and Goldblum gives a surprisingly fresh and satisfying performance.

The relationship of the friends is obvious from the beginning, and the fact that you see the problems coming makes them no less compelling. In fact, Caan has succeeded in something that is really quite difficult. As Dallas begins to dabble in ideas of larger crimes, we see coming the time when guns will come out (and they do), but even as it all happens he manages to keep the focus on the characters and not on the action. We care about what will happen to these flawed characters. This is a real strength of this film.

In fact, all of the performances are good here (including a nice turn by Val Lauren). And the film has the great virtue that it is evenly paced and not overly long. Caan manages the tricky task of working on both sides of the camera well, although this is definitely more a movie of characters and performances rather than a cinematic vision. The photography is effective for the story and shows some of the budget constraints, but it also does not call attention to itself. Undoubtedly Caan will develop as a director over time, but this is a very respectable first effort.

Was in 'Vegas for fun at the Palms hotel - caught the CineVegas festival while I was there. Saw a bunch of interesting films which already have distribution, this one and THE ROAD HOME, were the two I saw that did not.

Interesting movie which I heard was the first film written and directed by Scott Caan. He did a good job and I really enjoyed the build up of the first half, but then the film kind of slowed down and lost some of my interest. I didn't get into the characters as much as I wanted to, but I did enjoy the performances especially of Jeff Goldblum.

Overall a decent little film.

Scott Caan's directorial debut gives us a film that surprises because of the talent he shows and the intelligence it projects. Mr. Caan shows a strong resemblance to his father and he surely makes him proud in his first job behind the camera. This young actor, turned director, seems to be on the right path for bigger and better things.

Mr. Caan was able to attract an interesting cast that obviously loved this project as their performances clearly demonstrate on the screen. Shawn Hatosy, who plays Rusty, is an intense young actor who doesn't repeat himself in any of the films in which he plays. In fact, his inter action with Mr. Caan's Dallas, pays off in a good way. The two of them make an excellent combination.

Others in the cast include a wonderful Jeff Goldblum, as the therapist who is seeing Rusty's mother. Kelly Lynch makes another good appearance. Bob Gunton, Selma Blair, and the rest of the supporting cast do wonders under Mr. Caan's direction.

We look forward to a long career for Scott Caan. He deserves it.