Review by Lars Lindahl
"Reindeer Games" (2000)
Directed by John Frankenheimer Written by Ehren Kruger
Starring Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, Charlize Theron, Dennis Farina, Danny Trejo, Clarence Williams III, and Isaac Hayes.
Grade: * (out of four)
What makes Reindeer Games even more disappointing than just a predictable, lifeless action flick is the cast and crew who signed onto the project. Most of the people involved in Reindeer Games just came off terrible slumps with excellent comeback performances in their most recent films. John Frankenheimer, who made the unforgettable Cold War drama The Manchurian Candidate way back in the early 60's, recently showed critics and fans alike that he still had some magic left in his directorial skills when he created the brilliant car chase scenes in Ronin. Screenwriter Ehren Kruger gave a remarkable first impression when he wrote the script for the underrated Arlington Rd. Ben Affleck displayed his comedic talents in Dogma and Boiler Room, and even on Saturday Night Live directly after the horrible Forces of Nature and 200 Cigarettes. Even Charlize Theron, who I was convinced couldn't act, did a decent job in Cider House Rules. When all of these bright stars come together, one would assume that the movie will have great potential to be entertaining. After coming out of the theater showing Reindeer Games, disbelief was my first reaction…then frustration. The movie could have premiered on Cinemax at two in the morning starring an all-rookie cast and still would have been equally lacking in entertaining. The acting is so pitiful and the script so dull, I may have to rethink some of my opinions on how talented these actors actually are. It seemed like everyone was restricted to just the script and not given a fair amount of improvisational rights. We have all seen Ben Affleck have some fun on the set, it is so apparent in a number of scenes in Good Will Hunting when he exchanges jokes with his friends at a bar. The actors in that movie were having fun and, from that, the audience had fun. Reindeer Games is the complete opposite; the actors don't seem to want to be their characters (even Danny Trejo, who will do practically anything, doesn't look like he is enjoying himself), causing the audience to quickly lose interest. Evidence of public disapproval was noted when a woman behind me yelled "Boy this movie is horrible!" and when there were scattered giggles during the most dramatic moments.
The story follows a man, Rudy (Ben Affleck), who is leaving prison in a few days along with his best friend and cellmate Nick (James Frain). Nick has been exchanging love letters with a beautiful woman, Ashley (Charlize Theron), and cannot wait to leave prison and meet her in person. When Nick is killed in a prison riot, Rudy decides to pretend to be Nick and take Ashley out on a date for the Christmas holidays. Unfortunately Ashley's brother, Gabriel (Gary Sinise) interferes with their relationship. Thinking Rudy is Nick, he kidnaps Rudy and threatens to kill him unless he helps rob a casino, which Nick use to work at as a security guard. Now Rudy must pretend to be Nick so he can protect Ashley from her brother Gabriel. Confused? The movie only gets more complex as it goes on, until it gets way, way too complex at its climax.
But Reindeer Games makes its first serious mistake during the first half an hour. The hero commits a greedy, selfish act when he decides to pretend he is his dead cellmate in order to date Ashley. Some hero. The point of a hero is to do the morally correct thing, a person for the audience to relate to or admire. When Rudy lies and cheats his way into trouble, instead of gathering support from me for him to ultimately succeed in getting the bad guys, I felt more like he was getting what he deserved and even wanted to see him fail at times. The most irritating part of the film (besides the fact that this is a Christmas movie released in February) is the number of chances the bad guys get to kill Rudy but fail or delay for some idiotic reason. The routine in which the bad guy must explain his genius plan to the hero before attempting to kill him with some elaborate machine is getting so tired nowadays, especially when I eagerly want to see the hero dead.
The only saving grace keeping this movie from receiving zero stars is an amusing but pointless cameo from Isaac Hayes as a prisoner upset with his food. Why he was in this movie for such a pointless role beats me. Why any of these people had anything at all to do with this movie beats me.
Lars Attacks! http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
by Lars Lindahl © 2000 Lars Lindahl
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