8 Million Ways to Die

I was baffled as to why decidedly arthouse director Hal Ashby would take on a commercial noir flick like this. It has all the scummy working parts but somehow, the blend of his quirky style and the material misses ever so slightly. It starts off REALLY strong but seems to lose a ton of gas when at the end. The film is...well, it could be a double bill with "Inherent Vice" or "Cutter's Way" A rogue alcoholic cop turned ex-cop from his mistakes attempts to investigate the murder of a hooker he had taken a liking to. That's it. He has friends in dirty places. Hookers, pimps, drug dealers, and the best part...all of them can justify their vocation. Scum begets scum and game recognizes game. And it's fun for the most part. Particularly to see Los Angeles in the 1980s. Other than that, it does become a mess. And you can tell when they just let the script go and start vamping for time. As great as an actor that Jeff Bridges, Rosanna Arquette and Andy Garcia are...they really falter when it came to improvisation. Was it that director Ashby just threw his hands up in resignation. Can't tell. But it's hard to have too many cooks into this meal. All in all, whatever may have transpired behind the scenes, I can't help but enjoy the hell out of some of the moments. A few moments is all that matters. And that's enough. Moments of dark humor are good enough for me. An interesting 80's noir flick.