TWENTY BUCKS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
TWENTY BUCKS
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 7.1
Date Released: 10/22/93 (in NY, LA, and Seattle) Running Length: 1:31 Rated: R (Mature themes, nudity, language, violence)
Starring: Linda Hunt, Brendan Frasier, Elisabeth Shue,
Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd, Alan North,
David Rasche, Gladys Knight, Matt Frewer, Spalding Gray
Director: Keva Rosenfeld
Producer: Karen Murphy
Screenplay: Leslie and Endre Bohem
Music: David Robbins
Released by Triton Pictures
It isn't often these days that a movie comes along with this many oddities about it. In fact, there is little that could be described as "normal" about TWENTY BUCKS, either on or off screen. With a script that has literally been in development for fifty-eight years, this movie follows the progress of a single twenty dollar bill as it's passed from hand-to-hand. During the course of the ninety minute journey, it gets run over by a car, stuffed in a stripper's g-string, bloodied in a robbery, and stuffed into a fish's mouth. Each of these occurrences has its own story and a group of characters to go along with it.
One thing that sets this movie aside from the few other films that have followed the progress of an item is that while TWENTY BUCKS strings together a series of short stories, few of these are independent of one another. With characters crossing over and re-appearing (sometimes in the most unexpected of places), this becomes more than a traditional anthology. Few people show up once never to re-surface.
Coincidence plays a strong role in TWENTY BUCKS, much as it did in Martin Scorsese's AFTER HOURS. In fact, in some of the bizarre ways that various stories intertwine, there is a feeling of that earlier film here. Much of the enjoyment of this picture is in watching the cruel machinations of fate. When used as a plot element in a drama, coincidence can be fatal, but when forming the foundation of a story that doesn't take itself too seriously, this can be a marvelous asset.
In assembling and working with this impressive ensemble cast, first time feature director Keva Rosenfeld has accomplished a task worthy of Robert Altman. In fact, keen viewers will spot an Altman-like influence on the movie. To have one's debut compared favorably to the works of two of America's most influential and talented directors (Altman and Scorsese) is no mean feat, but Rosenfeld has managed to make an impressive impact with an offbeat motion picture.
Don't take TWENTY BUCKS too seriously. There are moments of unexpected power, but most of the script is more intent on wry, witty interaction. Cliches are rigorously avoided. A bachelor party, complete with stripper, shows the discomfort that many feel during this somewhat-absurd rite of passage. A crime spree displays the seductive influence of getting away with something. A young woman discovers that she has more in common with her estranged father than she could ever imagine. And a bag lady discovers that fate has a vicious sense of humor.
Following a twenty dollar bill, you're never quite sure what you're going to get, or what different side of a familiar character you're about to be exposed to, and that's part of the charm of this movie. Character depth is necessarily limited, but there's enough inherent cleverness in how the central idea is handled that this isn't a major detriment. However, as the many studios that turned down TWENTY BUCKS pointed out, the audience for this film is likely to be highly specialized.
The script went through a mammoth eighteen re-writes, the first draft (of which very little remains) having been penned in 1935 by Endre Bohem, the father of Leslie Bohem, who was eventually responsible for the final version. TWENTY BUCKS impressed a lot of people in Hollywood, and that's the reason that it has such a high-profile cast despite a budget under $6 million.
Of all the actors involved in the project, only Elisabeth Shue isn't consistently up to the challenges of her character. There are a couple of scenes where her performance seems forced. Perhaps the most impressive job is turned in by Steve Buscemi as a small-time con artist turned convenience store robber. Some of his dialogue is positively Tarantino-like. Christopher Lloyd, who plays his gentlemanly partner-in- crime, is given an opportunity to play a role straight, with no hint of going over-the-top, or even near it. Spalding Gray, that pinnacle of "secular humanism", is an interesting choice to portray a priest.
TWENTY BUCKS is worth seeing if only for its differences from most currently available films. Those viewers with an eye for such things will appreciate its attention to detail. The film is receiving a platform release, starting in New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle, then moving on from there. TWENTY BUCKS is certainly worth the seven you'll have to pay to get in.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews