Mad Dogs

I will agree that this movie is a lot of fun to watch,uncut that is, and I will go further and say that it was probably a hoot to be a part of the making of it as well. Lets face it some of these guys are not around anymore and this might have been one of their last laughs together. I for one found it exciting to have one last look at Henry Silva, Richard Pryor and Christopher Jones. Those last two by the way were in one of their first movies together as well, Wild In The Streets. Michael J. Pollard will always be seen in something. Kyle MacLachlan was probably in it just for the kicks. His performance seemed a bit over the top even for him. All in all I would have loved to have been an extra on this one but at least I got to see it.

I'm quite convinced that everyone who gave this a good review watched a completely different movie than I did. With odd filming choices, bad acting, stilted dialogue and a slow plot that is so thin it barely deserves to even be called a plot, this was just a hot (or rather lukewarm) smoky mess from start to finish, dead on arrival much like many of the main players in this movie, and a one note symphony of stand off after stand off conducted sitting down for some reason (would it then be called a sit off?).

I'm going to level with you, I bought this because I have a crush on Jeff Goldblum, (hey, he has some pretty eyelashes in this movie, though his lines are limited), but even with an all star cast, it'd take a whole lot of polishing for this movie to shine. Though I will admit Gabriel Byrne's character Ben has some moments of intrigue, it can't save the whole show, and besides, most of the best scenes are already seen in the preview and so it's all downhill from there.

I mean it's certainly nowhere near the worst movie I've ever seen, it has its few small huff a tiny bit of air from your nose marginally funny moments, but it's cutting it awfully close. That lucky son of a gun who gets shot in the the first few minutes of the movie and didn't have to sit through the rest of it though, one could envy him.

Why this film was savaged when it was released is beyond me. It's a comedy for Pete's sake, not Macbeth. I'll admit the structure is a little strange and the characters are quirky to say the least. But it reminds me of Barton Fink in style. Maybe you have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it. But give it a chance. There's a bit of everything here; Henry Silva doing a great Burt Reynold's laugh right to Burt's face; Ellen Barkin as sexy and nutty as ever; Richard Dreyfuss as the manic mob boss; and last but not least Gabriel Byrne as the flunky who would be king. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I think the critics got this one waaaay wrong. So, watch it and make up your mind.

If you are used to seeing Gabriel Byrne in serious roles such as Tom in Millers Crossing or Keaton in The Usual Suspects I recommend you take a look at this film. Even if you are not a fan of Gabriel Byrne in particular, all the actors in this film give really great performances. If you've got about eleven bucks (that is close to nine quid) I say order it online, or rent it from you favorite movie rental place. Guaranteed to make you laugh, whether or not you normally like gangster type movies. Mad Dog Time/Trigger Happy is one of those movies you never forget, and find yourself watching over and over. You will talk about it so much your friends will be begging to borrow it.

A modern metaphor for heaven, based around a single concept : "What if god was a gangster?". Directed by the son of the legendary Joey Bishop, Larry B has done an outstanding job with an outstanding cast.

Vic (Richard Dreyfuss), absent gang boss of a mythical copless city is getting out of the loony bin. His chief lieutenants (Gabriel Byrne & Jeff Goldblum) are busy vying for power in his absence, and his rivals (Kyle MacLachlan, Burt Reynolds & Gregory Hines) are busy trying to take over the entire city.

Where is the metaphor I hear you ask? Let me start you off, Dreyfuss is god..