BUFFALO '66 (director: Vincent Gallo; cast: Vincent Gallo (Billy Brown), Christina Ricci (Layla), Angelica Huston (Janet Brown), Ben Gazzara (Jimmy Brown), Mickey Rourke (Bookie), Jan-Michael Vincent (Sonny), Rosanna Arquette (Wendy), Kevin Corrigan (Goon), 1998)
This self-absorbing, arty film about a lowlife, has Billy Brown (Vincent) return to the same 1966 Buffalo home he was born in and face again, though this time as an adult, his same old dysfunctional homelife. His parents are Janet Brown (Angelica) and Jimmy Brown (Ben). Janet is a gung-ho Buffalo Bills fan who is more interested in them than she is in her son. Jimmy is a poor imitation of a Sinatra-like singer, having once been a professional singer himself but now appears despondent and lecherous.
Billy is a loser. He bets 10 grand on the Bills to win the superbowl and when he doesn't have the coin to pay the bookie, he is forced to do jail time for someone else's crime as payment for his debt. After serving 5 years, Billy returns to Buffalo (which looks vulgar and seedy). He tries desperately to find a bathroom, and, instead, mistakingly goes into a dance studio; subsequently, coming up with the idea of kidnapping Layla (Christina). She is leaving a tap dancing class just as he, comically, without meaning to be comical, threatens to kill her unless she comes with him. He tells her, if she doesn't come, he won't be her best friend. She is told to act natural, like they are married. His plan is to bring her to his parents, so this way he can cover up his jail time, since he told them he couldn't see them for the last 5 years because of a sensitive spy job with the CIA. His hope is that they will now become impressed with him.
His plan is absurd, of course. But how else can you explain Billy as anything but absurd. It is something that Layla sees about him for herself, but she still falls for him. Some people call that love.
The film throws its bowling ball into the gutter a few times, as it belabors its points about sexual repression and phobias. It focuses too much attention on the Billy character; we never get to know much about who this nice young girl is who falls for him and is not alarmed about the kidnapping, and eventually saves him from himself. She is the best character in this film. Vincent is excellent when he goes into his scurvy character routine, but hard to take when he behaves so obsessively violent.
The comedic edge to the story works well, though at times the film is too arty. When Billy imagines that he is trying to kill the field goal kicker who lost the superbowl game he bet on, there are just too many unnecessary flashbacks of those scenes. It is as if, Vincent, as the director, is trying to beat us over the head with the point he is making about Billy's life being a constant foul-up ... In the end, that Billy is redeemed by the love of this insecure girl, the only one in his entire life who is able to offer him some kind of love, is a miracle worth savoring. This is an uneven but successful film debut for Vincent, both as a director and as a star.
REVIEWED ON 10/15/98 GRADE: B
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
http://www.sover.net/~ozus
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ
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