THE WHOLE NINE YARDS (M). (Warner Bros/Village Roadshow) Director: Jonathan Lynn Stars: Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Natasha Henstridge, Rosanna Arquette, Amanda Peet, Kevin Pollak, Michael Clarke Duncan, Harland Williams Running time: 98 minutes.
Murder, marital discord, hit men and mercenary killers combine to produce some unexpected belly laughs in this curiously appealing black comedy, filmed largely in Montreal.
Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky (Friends star Matthew Perry) is an uptight dentist increasingly stressed out by the demands of his money hungry wife Sophie (Rosanna Arquette, with a funny accent) and his equally mercenary mother-in-law. The answer to their various dilemmas arrives in the form of Jimmy Tudeski (Bruce Willis), a former mob hitman turned informer, who moves in next door. Learning that Jimmy is wanted by Chicago gang boss Janni Gogolak (Kevin Pollak), Sophie persuades Oz to go to Chicago and collect the reward money for turning him in to the mob. Then she informs Jimmy of her husband's actions in the hope that he will kill him.
Events get wildly out of control when Oz meets Jimmy's estranged wife (Natasha Henstridge, from Species, etc), and quickly falls for her. Meanwhile, Oz's pretty young receptionist (Amanda Peet) turns out to be an aspiring assassin herself with a fan-like adoration for Jimmy's past work. With $10,000,000 at stake for the survivors of the final confrontation, loyalty amongst killers is thin on the ground. While audiences may occasionally become confused with the details of who is double crossing whom along the way, everything is resolved neatly by the end.
The cast seem to have had a good time while making this film, and their enjoyment is reflected in their enthusiastic performances. Perry seems more comfortable with his role here, and turns in his best screen performance to date. He seems to have an affinity for the slapstick nature of his role, and suffers the brunt of the movie's pratfalls, walking into doors and falling off chairs, whilst maintaining some dignity. Willis seems to enjoy sending up his taciturn, laconic tough screen image with this broadly comic turn as a sensitive hit man with a complex set of moral values. Pollak provides some fine humour as the crude gangster whose biggest crime is his relentless mangling of the English language. Michael Clarke Duncan (recently seen in the superb The Green Mile) lends his formidable presence to the role of Frankie Figs, the hitman whose loyalties are uncertain.
Written by first time screen writer Mitchell Kapner, The Whole Nine Yards is the latest screen outing for British director Jonathan Lynn (best known for his work on the classic tv sitcom Yes Minister, and films such as My Cousin Vinny, etc). Lynn has a good eye for clever visual gags and he maintains a reasonably cracking pace throughout the convoluted turns and twists. Unfortunately, Kapner's sense of invention does not quite last the distance, and he seems to run out of fresh ideas before the final showdown.
Nonetheless, The Whole Nine Yards is an entertaining mix of black comedy and broad slapstick humour that works a treat, and is one of the funniest films to hit our screens so far this year.
*** greg king http://www.netau.com.au/gregking
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