Clay Pigeons

In a small town out west, a target practice outing with a friend kicks off a chain of bizarre events that lead a man to involvement with murder and an unsolicited alliance with a person of, shall we say, `questionable' character in `Clay Pigeons,' directed by David Dobkin. Joaquin Phoenix is Clay Birdwell, a regular guy whose lack of judgment and discretion catches up with him unexpectedly in this dark, maddening tale of morality and fate that is sometimes morose and disturbing, at other times darkly humorous, as it deftly examines the trappings of the tangled webs we humans weave. Clay has become mired in a moral dilemma from which there seems to be no escape, when he meets and is befriended by Lester Long (Vince Vaughn), a trucker passing through town one night. At a local bar, Lester observes that Clay doesn't exactly have a way with women; it gets Lester's attention, which leads to a game of pool and, later on, a casual fishing trip that, like the target practice outing, proves to be a life-altering experience for Clay. Phoenix is perfectly cast as Clay, ably conveying the effects of the dark quagmire into which he is cast by circumstances he is unable to control. His performance enables you to feel him sinking ever deeper as the story moves along, and to empathize with him and experience what he is going through. You realize that he understands his situation, and it becomes a matter of waiting to see if he will make the right decisions, regardless of the inevitable consequences. It creates a tension that makes you want to yell at the screen to tell him what to do. Vaughn is excellent as well as the cowboy trucker with the winning smile, robust laugh and a closet full of dark secrets. There's a menace behind the good-natured facade he puts on that becomes more pronounced as the events unfold. Pretty early on you know what this guy is all about, but somehow it only enhances the anxiety of the whole situation as it becomes a cat-and mouse game (with some unexpected twists) between Clay and Lester. Another notable performance comes from the charismatic Janeane Garofalo, who is surprisingly effective and credible as F.B.I. agent Dale Shelby, who comes to town when things take a turn and begin to heat up. It's a credit to her talent and versatility that she can pull this character off so well. The supporting cast includes Georgina Cates (Amanda), Scott Wilson (Sheriff Mooney), Vince Vieluf (Deputy Barney), and Monica Moench (Kimberly). There are moments in this movie that absolutely make you want to tear your hair out, a credit to the way Dobkin put this project together and delivered it. `Clay Pigeons' is a nail-biter that will keep you going right up to the end (which is terrific); Clay and Lester are characters you're going to remember, and just to make sure there's a brief, inspired reminder at the end of the credits (so stay with it all the way). Relatively overlooked during it's original release, this film should gain new life on video, and deservedly so; this is one you'll be glad you took a look at. I rate this one 9/10.

Clay Pigeons is a great movie with an original plot, which is hard to come by these days. The acting by Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn was spectacular! I don't think that you could find better actors for these parts. They made the movie even better than it was, which says a lot. The movie also has a great ending that you wouldn't really expect. If you haven't seen this movie, you should really check it out! You won't regret it!

I usually don't read many comments here at IMDb before I have seen a certain film, I only read a few. But before I saw "Clay Pigeons" I read them all and after having done so I didn't exactly expect much when I pushed "play" on the remote control. I'm not saying that that is the only reason why I liked this movie so much, because I really thought that it was a good film. Not a masterpiece of course, but the script is witty, the acting great, and the movie in itself is quite entertaining -- it's never boring. I really, really like Joaquin Phoenix, he is one of the best young actors around now, and he didn't disappoint me in this film -- far from it. He's quite brilliant. Vince Vaughn must have had a great time playing Lester Long, you can see that he is comfortable with his character and Vaughn is better than I'd ever expected, however, for me it's Phoenix's film. He truly is amazing. As for Janeane Garofalo, she's certainly not bad, but neither very good, but that's mainly because she's in the shadow of Vaughn and Phoenix. Overall, an entertaining and rather funny film, way better than I expected. (7/10)

Wow, this was a pleasant surprise. I rented it because a friend recommended it, but I knew little about it, and I know it played in theaters in fall 1998 for under 2 weeks.

Then I watched it.

I was really into this movie. It kept me wondering about all of the characters and it had a really good mysterious, dark and kinda funny atmosphere the whole time. What stood out the most was Vince Vaughn's character: Not since Jeffrey Combs in The Frighteners (my second favorite film of all time) has there been such a strange/hilarious intentions-completely-unknown-till-the-end character and you don't know whether to laugh at him or to be afraid of him. Terrific! The other characters in this freaky town the film takes place in are all superb, too. Sarcastic, hilarious, white-trash everywhere you look!

The film is great on a murder mystery level, great on a thriller level and good on a comedy level, and is never boring for a second. Rent it now, but I'll put out a warning: The movies soundtrack (100% country) will not thrill everyone.

8.5 out of 10. (It deserves 9, but that's what I gave Frighteners and that film was better).

Clay Pigeons is, to put it mildly, a very strange movie. That could be just me though, as this is the first dark comedy I've seen. Despite that I had fun watching it, from the first scene (which, by the way, gives you an awesome view of Joaquin Phoenix's beautiful eyes) up till the very last. Joaquin Phoenix, once again, delivered a memorable performance as Clay. He said his lines with conviction and the right amount of emotions at the right places. I don't know if Vince Vaughn was supposed to be hilarious but he cracked me up. I don't fancy Vince much but I like him in this movie. The plot is pretty unpredictable, and even though it doesn't grip your heart with tension it will maintain your interest until the very end cause you'll be dying to find out what happens to Clay.

Overall this film is definitely worth a watch.