Good natured audience pleaser about two lower level collectors for an East coast loan shark on the trail of a $400,000 debt plays like a low-rent version of “Get Shorty”, with the Travolta character cut in two, presumably so he’ll have someone to talk to.
Childhood friends Joey Carlucci (Angelotti) and Dominick Mazzetti (Langa) are in the employ of a bookie named “Big Tommy” Cesaro (Cortese), chasing down delinquent debtors and debating Italians in baseball in their spare time. After they catch a wayward Russian by surprise, impressing the boss, they get assigned to bigger things: track down lying weasel Willy Starks (McNamara), a slippery con artist who absconded with $400,000 of Cesaro’s money.
After visiting Starks wife in jail, they discover that Starks is in sunny Southern California. Joey has a farewell dinner with his secret girlfriend, Nickie (McCormick), who is the daughter of “Big Tommy”. Not wanting to get whacked for dating the boss’s daughter, Joey and Nickie dine in the kitchen of the local café, where the passing waiters and cooks emerging from the nearby meat locker kill the romance. Nickie is frustrated with the secrecy and with Joey’s inability to find a real job; Joey just wants to keep things as they are.
Joey and Dominick fly to Los Angeles, and we have our FOW (or “fish out of water”) jokes. They locate Starks, who is doing business in a strip club with two dangerous looking Cubans. Stationed outside his house, Joey gets hungry and breaks in, only to be attacked by Rachel, Starks’ 10 year old daughter. Freaking out because he has knocked her unconscious, with Starks and the Cubans coming in the front door, Joey and Dom escape with her in tow.
Newcomers Langa and Angelotti make a definite splash with their first feature, which was shot in high definition and looks terrific. The two have a good natural chemistry together, and the inevitable comparisons to Affleck/Damon will be a great help to them. Their script is also surprisingly taut, lacking the usual pretentious crap so evident in most maiden cinematic voyages. The dialogue is sharp and funny, and the characters are as colorful and memorable as those in an Elmore Leonard novel. These two have a real future in Hollywood, and I can’t wait to see their next effort.
by Dean EdwardSWC
Films
In my 30 years of filmmaking and teaching about it, I've learned there are three elements in filmmaking that signal a film's potential for failure or success. One is the story. A second is the talent in front of and behind the lens. And the third is distribution.
Very few film projects begin with a good story. And bad stories do not attract name actors. And without name actors, getting distribution is impossible. That's the low-down of most motion picture projects.
But occasionally a film comes along that has a great story and script, and although no big names are attached, is a complete joy to watch. My guess is that the distributors that ignore such a jewel will soon regret it. One such film is YOU GOT NOTHIN'.