Go (1999) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Sarah Polley, Jay Mohr, Scott Wolf, Desmond Askew and Taye Diggs
"Go" is an energetic exercise in frantic filmmaking that also is witty, stylish and enjoyable.
The movie, directed by Doug Liman of "Swingers'" fame, tells three interconnecting stories set on Christmas Eve and all concerning young people involved in Los Angeles' raucous and seamy underground life.
The initial story revolves around Ronna (Sarah Polley), an 18-year-old grocery store checkout clerk who needs to raise some money to keep from being evicted from her apartment.
She hits upon a scheme to fill in for Simon (Desmond Askew), one of her co-workers, who deals drugs as a sideline.
Simon, it seems, is taking off with some friends for a weekend jaunt in Las Vegas.
Ronna scores some pills, which she is supposed to sell to Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr), a pair of TV stars, who, coincidentally, find themselves starring in a real-life drug sting.
All those stories and most of the characters intersect in John August's fast-paced script.
Liman, who also handled the cinematography, creates an edgy atmosphere as he continually jumps his camera around. You never know what's going to happen next, nor who will pop into the picture.
Of the three stories, the best - and funniest - is the vignette set in Vegas where Simon and his buddies, including Marcus (Taye Diggs), are set for a weekend of frolic.
Of course things go terribly wrong as Simon is involved in a fire, a shooting and a car theft. The Vegas stay is cut short as the buddies make a hasty retreat back to Los Angeles.
Though "Go" is an ensemble piece, a couple of the performers do stand out, especially Diggs as the ever-cool Marcus and Polley as the beleaguered Ronna.
This is a movie geared more for the 20-something audience. Older audiences may not appreciate the casual approach to drugs and sex. If so, that's their loss, since "Go" is rife with humor.
Wolf and Mohr are winning as the actors dealing with a moral dilemma, while Askew is a bit outrageous as the impulsive Briton who, as he tells his buddies, learned to drive by watching American cop shows.
Liman, following in the footsteps of Quentin Tarantino, deftly mixes comedy and violence, overdoing neither.
And while "Go" is no "Pulp Fiction," it has a similar in-your-face air, daring you to accept the movie on its own terms or forget it.
"Go" is an entertaining ride, a wild, kinetic experience that is most satisfying.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net
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