The film never finds its tone and several scenes run too long.
Knockaround Guys (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:97
Fresh:19
Rotten:78
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: Well-acted, but it's too derivative.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, language and some drug use
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Oct 11, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $11,509,127
Synopsis: Matty (Barry Pepper) is the only son of Brooklyn mobster Benny "the Chains" (Dennis Hopper). Considered too sensitive for mob work, but unable to find a regular job, Matty finally gets a chance to... Matty (Barry Pepper) is the only son of Brooklyn mobster Benny "the Chains" (Dennis Hopper). Considered too sensitive for mob work, but unable to find a regular job, Matty finally gets a chance to join his dad's organization when he agrees to arrange transport of half a million dollars across the country. When it winds up lost in a small Montana town, Matty and his assortment of tough-guy pals (played by Andrew Davoli, Seth Green, and Vin Diesel) are forced to fly out there, tangle with the locals, and find the money before their disappointed elders come to get them, guns blazing. KNOCKAROUND GUYS features stylishly washed-out, gritty cinematography and benefits from a refreshing lack of the expected "city folk stranded in a small town" gags. Instead it's a tale of identity crisis-plagued boys blasting their blood-soaked way into manhood, with the dependable Diesel easily stealing the prize with his turn as Matty's philosophic brawler pal. John Malkovich--sporting one of the weirdest Brooklyn accents in gangster film history--is also memorable as one of the older mobsters. It's the directorial debut for the screenwriting team of Brian Koppelman and Sid Levein, who before this penned the script for ROUNDERS. [More]
Starring: Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Barry Pepper, Andrew Davoli
Starring: Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Barry Pepper, Andrew Davoli, Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, John Liddle, Tom Noonan, Nicholas Pasco
Director: Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Director: Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Screenwriter: Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Producer: Lawrence Bender, Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Composer: Clint Mansell
Studio: New Line Cinema
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Reviews for Knockaround Guys
It's not a thriller, it's not a comedy, it's not a family drama, and the biggest thing it's not is entertaining.
These Guys won't make anyone forget GoodFellas, but the picture boasts a handful of solid performances, a few genuinely clever lines and a promising premise.
All told, Knockaround Guys offers the entertainment value of a medium-level Sopranos episode, but with little of the resonance.
It takes itself very seriously, exploring such deep issues as "our dads are big gangsters, why aren't we? Our life sucks."
Plodding, poorly written, murky and weakly acted, the picture feels as if everyone making it lost their movie mojo.
It's like a drive-by. You can drive right by it without noticing anything special, save for a few comic turns, intended and otherwise.
There's nothing in the half-comic, half-serious Knockaround Guys you can't see weekly in The Sopranos.
The movie takes itself too seriously and, as a result, it makes for only intermittent fun.
The final climax, and its family feud denouement, is so obvious in the concept and so silly in the execution. The movie, which started well, sells us out.
Of interest only to male viewers who are addicts of Scorsese-meets -Tarantino gangster-life frolics.
I saw Knockaround Guys yesterday, and already the details have faded like photographs from the Spanish-American War ... It's so unmemorable that it turned my ballpoint notes to invisible ink.
Despite engaging offbeat touches, Knockaround Guys rarely seems interested in kicking around a raison d'etre that's as fresh-faced as its young-guns cast.
...wannabe mob sons in a hick town milling around—buying beers and showing off their leather jackets.
The execution is lazy enough for a straight-to-cable title and we’re left yawning awaiting for all the principle players to arrive in bumble**** so we can finally have a shootout.
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