Ahhhh, our constant eyes looking out over the shoulder of Hollywood.... The mysterious man who slithers and sneaks his way even through the laziest of Test Screening Security... as could only be demonstrated by... Well, you know their initials... eh J.F.? Anyways... Here's a film that we have heard next to anything about. It stars Liam Neeson, who seems to be having one of them... how do you say.... BANNER YEARS. I mean, shucks... THE PHANTOM MENACE, THE HAUNTING and an allegedly wonderful romantic comedy? O..... K.... Great. The film also highlights fellow Austinite, Sandra Bullock, and I really hope this film is as strong for her as Segue says because... well, I always root for people that wake up one day and say, "AUSTIN'S THE GREATEST CITY ON THE PLANET!" Also, Oliver Platt figures into the film, I used to hate him as an actor, but ever since FUNNY BONES, he's been hitting it right in my opinion... So keep your eyes on him. Here's Segue....
Head Geek
My name is Segue Zagnut. I hope I say enough. Tonight I saw 'Gun Shy'. Liam Neeson, Sandra Bullock, and Oliver Platt star. I was lucky this time because I almost got there to late to get in. NRG had already let the line in but because tonight I watched alone... I slid in. The print we saw was definitely a work print. Lines and scratches, edits jumped and the music was temporary and terrible. The movie however was excellent.
Neeson plays a veteran DEA agent who is clearly the best of his kind until he almost gets killed in a drug sting gone wrong. Suddenly, he's questioning his job and is scared to death. He wants to quit, but can't really. At least not until he finishes his current assignment. Reluctantly, he keeps working while trying to deal with his fear by seeing a psychiatrist and going to group counseling. He starts dating a new age healer (Bullock) with other views on how to make him well. All while he sets-up a new sting to nail two Colombian drug lords and an Italian wantta be Godfather (Platt) in a double crossing money laundering deal for the DEA.
It works. The ideas aren't necessarily new. Analyze This and Running Scared are both good movies that deal with the same basic concepts. But Gun Shy is better. It successfully gives each character a realistic emotional identity. Many scenes are caricatures that satirize normal life with an extreme. But the performances and the writing establish a human connection that drives each moment. I wanted to know how it would turn out. More so, I wanted to know how it would get there.
The opening is slick, original, and smart. It begins with Neeson sitting on the floor in an airport bathroom sick and sweaty. He is talking to himself about how he can't go on as it cuts back and forth with the drug deal that went wrong and the bathroom. It set-up the concept and prepares us for the kind of humor to expect. The movies greatest asset is Neeson. He plays it straight man. If Martin Lawrence or Billy Crystal or even Ben Affleck had played the role, the comedian would have given the character comic baggage. The viewer waits for every line to be funny. Instead, when Neeson is funny, it is unexpected and simple. I've always liked Neeson, but here he seems more confident and relaxed then before. He looked very at home.
(HARRY NOTE: That's cause he's now a JEDI MASTER, Segue!)
Bullock is strong in what is ultimately a minor role. She is her most charismatic here. She has a comfortable sexiness that makes her down to earth alternative healer irresistible. She has several unique scenes with Neeson (She gives him an enema, They have sex on a huge pile of manure), that somehow manage to ground their relationship in reality. It's smart and it works. Platt doesn't try to keep it all real. In fact his first scene is over the top perfect. He's such a low level ruff and tumble gangster that when he thinks a friend has stolen his newspaper, he threatens to cut off his hands. Only to be stopped by his ultra-bitch wife. Platt is right on target as a multidimensional caricature.
Every angle works in this film. The acting is perfect. The romance is real. The action is suspenseful. And the emotional core works even in the funny group therapy sessions. The problems are few. The ending almost gets too silly and a few scenes dragged a little as it stands right now. But the story and the chemistry hold it together. This is the kind of comedy that some will love and other might hate. I, obviously stand with the latter.
I've said too much, I haven't said enough.
Consider This.. Segue Zagnut
