Susan's Plan

We picked up the DVD and thought, "Hey, with a cast like this and with John Landis directing, it's got to be worth at least a look. I mean, Landis did 'Blues Brothers', didn't he?" I also need to point out that we are big Dan Ackroyd fans and will watch, at least once, anything the man puts on film. Man, were we disappointed.

Rather than beat a dead horse, we'll just throw a few adjectives and phrases your direction: disjointed, bad editing, failing jokes (the fart jokes were the funniest, if this gives you an idea), no closure, redundant, unnecessary and distracting segues, gratuitous sex scenes (although Lara Flynn Boyles is very appealing, just not enough screen time to make it interesting!).

We watched this movie and braved the hour and a half hoping it would get better and that the cacophony of subplots would somehow congeal into a cohesive crescendo. Not happening. Just got worse and left us feeling like we wasted the popcorn.

Do not rent this movie. If you need a Dan Ackroyd fix, just rent "Grosse Pointe Blank" or even "Ghostbusters." And if you need a Rob Schneider fix, I understand 'Deuce Bigalow' was 'Citizen Kane' compared to this fine piece of...art.

I liked this movie only because Nastassja Kinski starred in it, and it was kind of a different role for her. She usually plays victim types, but in this she's not so nice. I wish the movie had been better scripted and edited. Too many things don't make sense. Why should we think Adrian Paul is worth killing? He's supposed to be not worth much, but we never know why. The ending is practically non-existent. It just runs out of steam and dies. Having said that, there were a few funny moments. Enough to rent a video for? Probably not, unless like me, you like one of the leads.

This excellent indie film by John Landis was thankfully shown on late night Cinemax where it could be taped. I guess it was not successful commercially. An intelligent and funny film with great acting and directing.

It's little unusual genre for John Landis. I got used to his good comedies, like "Coming to America" or "Trading places". This one is good movie too and it's "black comedy". But I like this movie. Sometimes it's funny and very stupid. Characters during the whole movie find oneselves to the most stupid situation. And this all cross with the strong violence and sexuality. So I can call this movie "The standard of black comedies".

Stars: Natassja Kinski, Billy Zane, Lara Flynn Boyle, Rob Schnieder, Michael Bien, Dan Aykroyd, Thomas Hayden Church and Joey Travolta.

This was a genuinely funny movie with great performances. It's a kill the husband get the money plotted film, but John Landis's script is surprisingly fresh. I'll start with the actors. Dan Aykroyd was my favorite performer as the humorless gangster. His lack of humor in the film is actually the funniest part of it. Schnieder and Bien are good as the two buddies in the film. Lara Flynn Boyle is hilarious as the slutty hairdresser. Now my problem with the film was the horrible ending. The plot felt so unresolved and it ended on such a horrible note that it ruined the rest of the film for me.

My rating: ** out of ****. 86 mins. rated R for Sex/Nudity, Gory Violence and Language.