PUSHING TIN
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 1999 Christopher Null
filmcritic.com
PUSHING TIN is being promoted as a funny, endearing look at the crazy-wacky lives of air traffic controllers, with a little romance in the mix.
PUSHING TIN is actually a droll, relatively lifeless look at the crazy-wacky lives of two rival air traffic controllers (Cusack and Thornton), neither of whom you'll actually like very much nor care about.
Same goes for their wives (Blanchett and Jolie, respectively, who play shades of the same white trash bimbette - one blind to the world, the other a drunk loony).
TIN has a few things going for it, namely some mildly interesting scenes where said tin is pushed around (the tin being a euphemism for planes in the air), though the movie gets awfully pedantic and obvious in pointing out just how stressful this job can be and what an awful toll it takes on the personal lives of these guys. And if you thought air travel was dangerous, well, this movie won't help matters much.
But TIN has much more detracting from an otherwise interesting setup: namely, that the story blows. It's too long, it's boring, and no character is remotely likeable. Even John Cusack, who made a name for himself being likeable, is not. Same for Thornton, imitating a deaf mute air traffic wunderkind of some sort. And while you think it may be fun to watch Jolie slut around as the town ho, it's not. Even Blanchett (last seen as Queen Elizabeth) playing streak-haired Jersey is just plain bizarre instead of compelling.
What else to say? PUSHING TIN is poised to be a substantially overhyped flick that delivers on few of its promises.
Consider this flight delayed at best, due to bad weather.
RATING: **1/2
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Mike Newell Producer: Art Linson Writer: Glen Charles, Les Charles Starring: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie
http://www.foxmovies.com/pushingtin/
Christopher Null - null@sirius.com - http://www.filmcritic.com - Buy my book! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0078825881/filmcriticcom/002-2549101-0837427
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