Very Bad Things
2/4
Starring: Jon Favreau, Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, Leland Orser, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Rated R for Strong, Grisly Violence, Sexuality, Drug Use and Language
"Very Bad Things" would probably have worked better as a short story rather than a feature film. There's not enough plot to fill up a 90 minute running time, and what happens in the film would probably be better left to the imagination. The plot is twisted enough, I guess, and there are some amusing moments, but it seems to drag.
Kyle Fisher (Favreau) is getting married to the beautiful, if wedding-obsessed, Laura Garrety (Diaz). To celebrate, he's going to Las Vegas with his best friends: Type A Boyd (Slater), quiet Moore (Orser) and the Berkow brothers, motormouthed Michael (Piven) and neurotic Adam (Stern). Things are going great and the boys are having fun drinking, gambling and doing coke. To top it off, Boyd has hired a prostitute named Tina (porn star Kobe Tai) to give them an exotic dance. But during an energetic romp around the bathroom, Michael accidentally slams Tina's head into a towel hook. The bachelor party has taken a wrong turn into manslaughter, and more and more of the wedding party is going to end up six feet under by the time Laura walks down the aisle.
I have no doubt that this could have been a great black comedy. The problem is that the film gets pretty repetitive, and Peter Berg, in his directorial debut, lacks a creative enough vision to keep things from becoming pretty dull. He is a good writer, though, a lot of the dialogue sounds improvised (and for all I know, it could be).
The acting varies. Christian Slater is delicious as Boyd, who seizes this opportunity to let out his inner psychopath. Cameron Diaz isn't far behind as the bridezilla, although she does have a few stiff moments and goes over-the-top on a few occasions (it's necessary due to the nature of the plot, but Diaz isn't particularly convincing in those moments. Surprising, considering how good of an actress she is). Jon Favreau and Leland Orser are also good, mainly because they're the everymen. Jeremy Piven is irritating. Daniel Stern and Jeanne Tripplehorn are kind of invisible, although the latter gets a great fight scene.
You gotta admire a film that has the audacity to go this far. This is a blacker than black comedy that relishes in the violence (the film contains more gore than many horror movies). It's not perfect, or even worth recommending, but it is admirable.
Starring: Jon Favreau, Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, Leland Orser, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Rated R for Strong, Grisly Violence, Sexuality, Drug Use and Language
"Very Bad Things" would probably have worked better as a short story rather than a feature film. There's not enough plot to fill up a 90 minute running time, and what happens in the film would probably be better left to the imagination. The plot is twisted enough, I guess, and there are some amusing moments, but it seems to drag.
Kyle Fisher (Favreau) is getting married to the beautiful, if wedding-obsessed, Laura Garrety (Diaz). To celebrate, he's going to Las Vegas with his best friends: Type A Boyd (Slater), quiet Moore (Orser) and the Berkow brothers, motormouthed Michael (Piven) and neurotic Adam (Stern). Things are going great and the boys are having fun drinking, gambling and doing coke. To top it off, Boyd has hired a prostitute named Tina (porn star Kobe Tai) to give them an exotic dance. But during an energetic romp around the bathroom, Michael accidentally slams Tina's head into a towel hook. The bachelor party has taken a wrong turn into manslaughter, and more and more of the wedding party is going to end up six feet under by the time Laura walks down the aisle.
I have no doubt that this could have been a great black comedy. The problem is that the film gets pretty repetitive, and Peter Berg, in his directorial debut, lacks a creative enough vision to keep things from becoming pretty dull. He is a good writer, though, a lot of the dialogue sounds improvised (and for all I know, it could be).
The acting varies. Christian Slater is delicious as Boyd, who seizes this opportunity to let out his inner psychopath. Cameron Diaz isn't far behind as the bridezilla, although she does have a few stiff moments and goes over-the-top on a few occasions (it's necessary due to the nature of the plot, but Diaz isn't particularly convincing in those moments. Surprising, considering how good of an actress she is). Jon Favreau and Leland Orser are also good, mainly because they're the everymen. Jeremy Piven is irritating. Daniel Stern and Jeanne Tripplehorn are kind of invisible, although the latter gets a great fight scene.
You gotta admire a film that has the audacity to go this far. This is a blacker than black comedy that relishes in the violence (the film contains more gore than many horror movies). It's not perfect, or even worth recommending, but it is admirable.
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