"Middle Men" Film Review
What stays in Vegas obviously isn't very good. (Now on DVD)
1 1/2 Stars
Blog exclusive!
"Middle Men" is a lame excuse for a motion picture. That being said let me tell you how I really feel. Though based on a true story there is nothing remotely down to earth onscreen. Full of sex and drugs, but sadly no rock n' roll "Middle Men" one of the most forgettable films I have seen all summer.
The plot centers on Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) a no frills businessman who is easy to get along with and won't fuck people over. Jack is supposedly great at fixing other people’s mistakes. However he and his family are in debt and appear to be just as ordinary as other middle class Americans. Little discrepancies like this crop up throughout the picture.
Against his wife's wishes Harris becomes caught up in a world of lust, greed and silicone. Of course Harris a nice country boy from Texas finds himself in over his head. Harris’ dealings with idiots, mobsters and sleaze balls slowly creeps up and him and leads to marital problems. I have no problem with the portrayal of the strained relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Harris but I wish the director placed more emphasis on it.
The main reason "Middle Men" misses its mark is because of its script. The writers try to make this movie epic and fail miserably. The numerous sub-plots get so much screen time and that really takes away from the Jack Harris’ story, which is the most important element of the film. The first fifteen minutes of "Middle Men" pave the way for the idiotic unraveling of a convoluted story.
The visuals are nice and crisp visuals throughout. The lighting isn't overly saturated a la "CSI: Miami." The dark underbelly of the porn world is shown in all its seedy glory. Despite the nice cinematography don't expect anything else to be as good. And though I only saw the film a few hours ago I can't even recall one song from the film's musical score.
The talent level of the cast is a mixed bag. Luke Wilson is dry, though he certainly isn’t the only one to blame given the material he’s provided. The villains in the film, Russian mobsters should make audiences shake in their boots, but they don’t. I attribute this mishap to the casting of a guy to play a Russian mob boss who doesn't look Russian. What saves this film from complete mediocrity is Avatar baddie Giovanni Ribsi's splendid performance. Ribsi plays Wayne Beering a former veterinarian who likes to get high off coke 24/7. The close-up shots of his face are hilarious.
Though they are definitely worse movies out in theaters this summer I would still steer clear of this film. "Middle Men" is billed to be something that it’s not, a moral tale. The only things to look forward to are hot chicks getting undressed. Oh well.
"Middle Men" was directed by George Gallo from a screenplay by Andy Weiss and George Gallo.
© 2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
1 1/2 Stars
Blog exclusive!
"Middle Men" is a lame excuse for a motion picture. That being said let me tell you how I really feel. Though based on a true story there is nothing remotely down to earth onscreen. Full of sex and drugs, but sadly no rock n' roll "Middle Men" one of the most forgettable films I have seen all summer.
The plot centers on Jack Harris (Luke Wilson) a no frills businessman who is easy to get along with and won't fuck people over. Jack is supposedly great at fixing other people’s mistakes. However he and his family are in debt and appear to be just as ordinary as other middle class Americans. Little discrepancies like this crop up throughout the picture.
Against his wife's wishes Harris becomes caught up in a world of lust, greed and silicone. Of course Harris a nice country boy from Texas finds himself in over his head. Harris’ dealings with idiots, mobsters and sleaze balls slowly creeps up and him and leads to marital problems. I have no problem with the portrayal of the strained relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Harris but I wish the director placed more emphasis on it.
The main reason "Middle Men" misses its mark is because of its script. The writers try to make this movie epic and fail miserably. The numerous sub-plots get so much screen time and that really takes away from the Jack Harris’ story, which is the most important element of the film. The first fifteen minutes of "Middle Men" pave the way for the idiotic unraveling of a convoluted story.
The visuals are nice and crisp visuals throughout. The lighting isn't overly saturated a la "CSI: Miami." The dark underbelly of the porn world is shown in all its seedy glory. Despite the nice cinematography don't expect anything else to be as good. And though I only saw the film a few hours ago I can't even recall one song from the film's musical score.
The talent level of the cast is a mixed bag. Luke Wilson is dry, though he certainly isn’t the only one to blame given the material he’s provided. The villains in the film, Russian mobsters should make audiences shake in their boots, but they don’t. I attribute this mishap to the casting of a guy to play a Russian mob boss who doesn't look Russian. What saves this film from complete mediocrity is Avatar baddie Giovanni Ribsi's splendid performance. Ribsi plays Wayne Beering a former veterinarian who likes to get high off coke 24/7. The close-up shots of his face are hilarious.
Though they are definitely worse movies out in theaters this summer I would still steer clear of this film. "Middle Men" is billed to be something that it’s not, a moral tale. The only things to look forward to are hot chicks getting undressed. Oh well.
"Middle Men" was directed by George Gallo from a screenplay by Andy Weiss and George Gallo.
© 2011 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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