Dallas 362

This have-a-go, first-time directing effort from actor Scott Caan strives for the cool quirkiness of True Romance but falls into an MTV-style wasteland.

An erratic modern-day western, it's the story of Rusty (Hatosy), a young man whose mum (Lynch) moved away from Dallas when Rusty's rodeo-performer dad bit the dust.

Shortly after arriving in their new hometown, Rusty became firm friends with fellow hellraiser Dallas (Caan). They've been inseparable ever since, sharing the same grotty pad and making money any which way they can.

But the beer-and-broads lifestyle has run its course for Rusty. He wants out of Dodge, even if it means leaving his best buddy behind.

His mum's psychiatrist boyfriend Bob (Goldblum) helps him through his dilemma. Bob's cool – he doesn't judge and he never turns down a spliff.

Rusty's mind is made up when Dallas hits upon the bright idea of jacking in the debt-collection lark to rob his bookie boss, while simultaneously agreeing to be the getaway driver on another job.

Cue many exchanges along the lines of "Are you retarded? Are you a retarded person? Have you lost your mind?" Flaws are acceptable in debut films but dodgy improvisation can be edited out. Or the scenes redone.

On paper, the cast is excellent. Like many other actors who make the switch behind the camera, Caan appears to have cashed in a few favours.

However, Marley Shelton vanishes after a single scene and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers), Freddie Rodriguez (Six Feet Under) and Selma Blair display embarrassingly poor improvisational skills. And the less said about Val Lauren's ridiculous turn as the local loser, the better.

Caan doesn't overstretch himself either, with Dallas being a copy of his bone-headed characters from Gone In 60 Seconds and Ocean's Eleven/Twelve.

Much-needed empathy comes from Hatosy as Rusty struggles to solve his friend-or-future conundrum. Jeff Goldblum is as reliable as ever but the show belongs to Lynch, who wrings every drop of dramatic juice from her small role.

There's enough energy to hold the attention but this adds nothing new to a familiar story and the silly and unlikely heist at the end helps not a jot.

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.

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.

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 want a great example of the new wave of pretentious small time hood films, this is it.

It's kind of amazing that anyone could think that an audience would want to sit and listen to this insipid dialogue. That its delivered by actors resembling a first read-through makes it even worse.

This movie is like an Actors Studio session where the worst students are allowed to 'let loose'.

It's worth watching however for Freddy Rodriguez' making a complete ass out of himself. I'd pay anything to see a shot before/after the scenes were shot to hear Caan's guidance.

This movie reeks.