Situated in a parallel nocturnal universe where trigger-happy gangsters cavort in cocktail lounges while scheming to off each other, writer-director-actor Larry Bishop's "Mad Dog Time" is quite the hybrid.
It's part Rat Pack paean to "Robin and the Seven Hoods" (Bishop's father is Rat Packer Joey), part "Wild in the Streets" commemorative cast party ("Mad Dog"'s Christopher Jones, Bishop and Richard Pryor also appeared in that late '60s seminal satire) and part Beverly Hills High reunion (Bishop, Richard Dreyfuss and Rob Reiner were schoolmates).
Unfortunately, the parts don't add up to very much. Despite some amusing quirky moments and performances, the self-consciously eccentric film quickly wears out its welcome, looking and mainly sounding like another inferior product of the spawn of Tarantino.
Expect the picture to get buried in the pre-Thanksgiving shuffle, although its cast of thousands could attract some mild curiosity when it shows up on video.
The normally somber Gabriel Byrne gets to kick up his heels as "Brass Balls" Ben London, a motor-mouthed Mob enforcer who has been minding the shop until the Big Boss, Vic (Dreyfuss), gets out of the loony bin. With word of Vic's imminent release, Ben attempts to tidy things up by eliminating some riffraff and leaning on the cool Mickey Holliday (Jeff Goldblum), who has been keeping company with the boss' girlfriend (Diane Lane) while two-timing her sister (Ellen Barkin).
When Vic finally emerges, he has a few scores of his own to settle, and when all the smoke clears only a handful of Bishop's sprawling cast remains standing.
Aside from Byrne, who gets to do a bit of a flip on his "Miller's Crossing" role, Goldblum also stands out as suave, smooth operator; while Dreyfuss has some fun as the crazy-like-a-fox boss man.
Bishop's script is fine on character but never goes beyond its and-then-there-were-none premise. He does score some big style points, however. Assisted by production designer Dina Lipton ("Mr. Holland's Opus") and cinematographer Frank Byers ("Twin Peaks"), he's concocted a permanently smoke-filled, cocktail-soaked time warp where sharp-dressed inhabitants lounge to the swinging sounds of -- who else -- Frank, Dean and Sammy.
MAD DOG TIME
MGM/UA
United Artists
A Dreyfuss/James production
in association with Skylight Films
Director-screenwriter Larry Bishop
Producer Judith Rutherford James
Executive producers Stephan Manpearl,
Len Shapiro
Director of photography Frank Byers
Production designer Dina Lipton
Editor Norman Hollyn
Music Earl Rose
Costume designer Ileane Meltzer
Casting Amy Lieberman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rita Ellen Barkin
Ben London Gabriel Byrne
Vic Richard Dreyfuss
Mickey Holliday Jeff Goldblum
Grace Diane Lane
Jules Flamingo Gregory Hines
Jake Parker Kyle MacLachlan
Jackson Burt Reynolds
Gabriella Angie Everhart
Lee Turner Billy Idol
Albert the Chauffeur Rob Reiner
Jimmy the Gravedigger Richard Pryor
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
It's part Rat Pack paean to "Robin and the Seven Hoods" (Bishop's father is Rat Packer Joey), part "Wild in the Streets" commemorative cast party ("Mad Dog"'s Christopher Jones, Bishop and Richard Pryor also appeared in that late '60s seminal satire) and part Beverly Hills High reunion (Bishop, Richard Dreyfuss and Rob Reiner were schoolmates).
Unfortunately, the parts don't add up to very much. Despite some amusing quirky moments and performances, the self-consciously eccentric film quickly wears out its welcome, looking and mainly sounding like another inferior product of the spawn of Tarantino.
Expect the picture to get buried in the pre-Thanksgiving shuffle, although its cast of thousands could attract some mild curiosity when it shows up on video.
The normally somber Gabriel Byrne gets to kick up his heels as "Brass Balls" Ben London, a motor-mouthed Mob enforcer who has been minding the shop until the Big Boss, Vic (Dreyfuss), gets out of the loony bin. With word of Vic's imminent release, Ben attempts to tidy things up by eliminating some riffraff and leaning on the cool Mickey Holliday (Jeff Goldblum), who has been keeping company with the boss' girlfriend (Diane Lane) while two-timing her sister (Ellen Barkin).
When Vic finally emerges, he has a few scores of his own to settle, and when all the smoke clears only a handful of Bishop's sprawling cast remains standing.
Aside from Byrne, who gets to do a bit of a flip on his "Miller's Crossing" role, Goldblum also stands out as suave, smooth operator; while Dreyfuss has some fun as the crazy-like-a-fox boss man.
Bishop's script is fine on character but never goes beyond its and-then-there-were-none premise. He does score some big style points, however. Assisted by production designer Dina Lipton ("Mr. Holland's Opus") and cinematographer Frank Byers ("Twin Peaks"), he's concocted a permanently smoke-filled, cocktail-soaked time warp where sharp-dressed inhabitants lounge to the swinging sounds of -- who else -- Frank, Dean and Sammy.
MAD DOG TIME
MGM/UA
United Artists
A Dreyfuss/James production
in association with Skylight Films
Director-screenwriter Larry Bishop
Producer Judith Rutherford James
Executive producers Stephan Manpearl,
Len Shapiro
Director of photography Frank Byers
Production designer Dina Lipton
Editor Norman Hollyn
Music Earl Rose
Costume designer Ileane Meltzer
Casting Amy Lieberman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rita Ellen Barkin
Ben London Gabriel Byrne
Vic Richard Dreyfuss
Mickey Holliday Jeff Goldblum
Grace Diane Lane
Jules Flamingo Gregory Hines
Jake Parker Kyle MacLachlan
Jackson Burt Reynolds
Gabriella Angie Everhart
Lee Turner Billy Idol
Albert the Chauffeur Rob Reiner
Jimmy the Gravedigger Richard Pryor
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 11/8/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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