Well for all the folks out there (like me) that have been following Balboa (aka Stallone) for the last eon or so... I've found this whole... 'reinvention' a bit.... interesting. COPLAND was the beginning of Stallone's second career... and thus far he's been very picky about what he's doing, and where he's headed. So DETOX is another film in the progression for Sylvester to get where he wants to be... which seems to be 'respect'. I wish him the best of luck, as his Rocky character was one of those film creations that has stuck with me since it's screen debut. So here's the next step...
Took a look at your list of movies you wanted info. on...Detox seemed to be one you didn't know much about, so I can give you a script scoop here. And what better time to do it, since only yesterday, Tom Berenger and Polly Walker were added to the cast!!
The first draft of the script by Ron L. Brinkerhoff is basically a standard cop-killer cat 'n mouse situation, set in a remote detox clinic in Wyoming. Stallone's character, Jake Malloy, was yer typical movie supercop specialising in catching serial killers, that is until one particularly nasty killer murders Malloy's girlfriend, and then kills himself. Malloy hits the bottle, and soon after tries to kill himself. He gets sent to the detox clinic specialising in rehabilitating cops, and we get introduced to the ten or so cops resident there who are in various states of psychosis/movie loon-ness. And what do ya know, somebody starts offing everyone, and Malloy starts trying to find out who. Nobody can escape, since it's the depths of winter and anyone trying to leave will freeze to death...
So there's yer plot. It's an ok read, could do with a polish to cover up a plot hole or two (sorta SPOILER here...Such as how does the killer get into the clinic in the first place? It's never really explained how he snuck in under his assumed identity..) Anyway, bodies pile up, the killer taunts Malloy, and we find out that it may even be the killer from the beginning, apparently not so dead as we thought...everything else goes according to formula, with Malloy uncovering the "surprise" identity of the killer, and having the by-the-numbers showdown at the end.
It should be a decent flick for Stallone...it's not a typical Rambo role, there's some depth to his character, it's a kind of role that you might think of for a "regular" actor like Alec Baldwin, someone like that. But still, it's basically an action movie. (Wonder if they'll keep the line near the beginning in which a dead cop is referred to as "A regular fucking Rambo". Oh, the irony!)
And finally, all GEEKS should go see this movie when it gets made, if only for the opening scene where a bunch of robbers dressed as Chewbacca, Yoda and a Stormtrooper hold up a pet store! My final word...this script is ok. Nothing exciting or original, but it's better than Stop or my mom will shoot.
Max California
