Rating: R
Genre:
Crime
Theatrical Release: 10/11/2002(USA)
Release Date: 04/07/2009
Flags: Violence, Adult Language, Substance Abuse
Distributor/Studio: Alliance Canada
A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this
crime comedy.
Matty Demaret (
Barry Pepper) is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss,
Benny "Chains" Demaret (
Dennis Hopper). When
Matty was 12 years old,
Benny and
Uncle Teddy (
John Malkovich) decided to see if
Matty had what it took to be in the mob; they gave the boy a gun and ordered him to shoot a longtime enemy of the family.
Matty lacked the nerve to do it, and ever since,
Benny has been convinced his son is a coward. As an adult,
Matty is stuck between a rock and a hard place; he'd like to work as a sports agent, but his family's criminal ties make that all but impossible, and his dad won't give him a chance in the family's operations.
Uncle Teddy decides to give
Matty a chance to make good by asking him to pick up a payment of $500,000 in Spokane, WA.
Matty puts together a crew of three friends, all sons of mob guys, to help him out: muscle bound
Taylor (
Vin Diesel), ladies' man
Chris (
Andrew Davoli), and cocaine-addled would-be pilot
Johnny (
Seth Green). Getting the money goes just fine, but during a refueling stop in Montana,
Johnny has to hide the money to keep it from being discovered. It's then promptly stolen by a pair of burnouts. When
Matty and his crew discover the money is missing, they head back to Montana, but before long, they find out that the sheriff (
Tom Noonan) is onto them, and that he has his own plans for the cash; they also learn that
Uncle Teddy has some plans he didn't tell them about.
Knockaround Guys marked the directorial debut for the screenwriting team of
Brian Koppelman and
David Levien.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
