It’s a funny thing about this movie in a summer like this. Well, it’s rare almost all the time now.
It’s a movie that is inviting you to see it, not because of the spectacle of the movie, but because of the story.
In this summer of ‘The Sequel’, as it seems to be, the movie jumped out of the listings at me as an oddity and I decided it was time to see a movie not because of the special effects, or because it was a sequel, or because it was so-and-so’s yearly summer movie, but because I wanted to see what happened in the story.
And I can’t say I was disappointed.
Ben Kingsley plays Frank Falenczyk a member of the Polish mafia, who fails to complete a hit on Edward O’Leary, the head of the Irish mob, when he passes out drunk in his car.
With this failure Frank is sent to San Francisco to dry out and attend AA under the supervision of Dave, played by Bill Pullman, a San Francisco realtor. While there he becomes an undertaker, befriends Tom, his gay AA sponsor, played by Luke Wilson and falls in love with Laurel Pearson, played by Tea Leoni.
It’s Frank’s relationship with Laurel that keeps the movie moving and his character growing. Luke Wilson and Bill Pullman are mostly side pieces that play well when needed and serve a few comic moments, but are secondary to the story.
The performances in this dry, dark comedy are all very good and while the movie may drift into the unbelievable, like having Laurel follow Frank back to Buffalo and help him exact revenge for what took place while he was gone, it’s handled well and remains funny.
I’ve recommended this to anyone who asks, but in the summer movie season these types of movies quickly fall by the wayside in favor of the large summer monstrosities. But if you get a chance, I’d see it.