The Whole Nine Yards (2000) Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Rosanna Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan, Natasha Henstridge, Amanda Peet, Kevin Pollak, Harland Wiliams. Written by Mitchell Kapner. Directed by Jonathan Lynn. 101 minutes. Rated PG-13, 3 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to ejohnsonott@prodigy.net or e-mail ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
The journey from TV to movie stardom has not been smooth for Matthew Perry. As the wisecracking Chandler Bing on "Friends," Perry comes off as the smartest and most edgy of the ensemble cast. But in his previous big screen starring efforts ("Fools Rush In," "Three To Tango" and the dreadful "Almost Heroes"), Perry's charisma dissipated on celluloid. Although playing variations of his television persona, he seemed oddly bleached out – effete and bland, almost wispy.
In "The Whole Nine Yards," Perry finally appears to have found his cinematic footing. As dentist, bedraggled husband and put upon good guy Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky, he displays a sense of backbone – tenuous at first, but stronger as the film goes on – that gives his one-liners and pratfalls more oomph.
Of course, it helps that Oz is one of only two decent human beings in this dark comedy. Surrounded by amiable hitmen who whack their own friends as casually as one would swat a fly, he provides a welcome moral center that makes the overwhelming nihilism of the story tolerable. As in the classic "Arsenic and Old Lace," lovable killers can be a lot of fun, provided you have at least one character that fully recognizes that what they are doing is wrong.
Indeed, Oz spends most of the movie surrounded by people doing wrong. While enduring the constant disdain of his dour bride, Sophie (Patricia Arquette), he recognizes his new neighbor as Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Bruce Willis), a contract killer recently sprung from prison after ratting out his former gangland employers. Refusing the witness protection program despite the fact that there is a price on his head, Tudeski maintains an assured, cheerful attitude while sharing his peculiar outlook on life to Oz. "It's not important how many people I've killed," he explains pleasantly, "What's important is how I get along with the people that are still alive."
I won't recount the elaborate plotting of Mitchell Kapner's screenplay. Suffice to say that Oz, badgered by his wife into making a very bad decision, quickly finds himself up to his ears in trouble, with any number of people out to kill him. Questionable allegiances, along with double and triple crossings, make up the bulk of "The Whole Nine Yards," providing a surprising amount of snappy entertainment. While humor periodically takes a backseat to the mechanics of the elaborate farce, the production never loses steam.
Savvy casting is key to the success of the film. Bruce Willis hits the right notes as Tudeski, blending a congenial nature with a strong sense of menace. Willis works beautifully with Perry, building an affectionate relationship with his new neighbor, while making it clear that he'll kill him in a heartbeat if need be. Michael Clarke Duncan, fresh from his breakout role as the gentle giant in "The Green Mile," is wonderful as a suave Chicago hitman, and Amanda Peet steals the show as Jill, a perky dental assistant with unusual career aspirations.
Other performers fare less well, mostly because of accents. Kevin Pollack, playing a gangland boss, affects a weird speech impediment that wears thin fast and Patricia Arquette, as the unrelenting harridan, uses a French accent that wouldn't pass muster in a high school play.
Director Jonathan Lynn does hit and miss work here. While he handles his lead actors with skill, he has problems behind the camera. To his credit, he moved the story setting from Miami to Montreal, choosing not to do the usual "Hey, we're filming in Canada to save money, but lets pretend it's a U.S. city" nonsense. But man, does he make Montreal look industrial and dreary. Lynn also overuses close-ups and awkward camera angles. Luckily, Randy Edelman's jazzy score makes the technical glitches easier to take.
In a winter that has offered a numbing string of lousy movies, "The Whole Nine Yards" is a zippy, nasty little change of pace. And for Matthew Perry, it offers evidence that there may be life beyond "Friends" after all.
© 2000 Ed Johnson-Ott
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