8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Tom Schulman

Writer (WGA):

Tom Schulman (written by)

Release Date:

18 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Meet Tommy Spinelli. He's got two days to deliver this bag, or more heads are gonna roll.

Plot:

A mob bagman finds that his luggage, containing the proof of his latest hit, has been switched.

Plot Keywords:

Head | Mexico | Vacation | Airport | Cryogenics

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Kristy Swanson	...	Laurie Bennett
Andy Comeau	...	Charlie
George Hamilton	...	Dick Bennett
Ernestine Mercer	...	Fern
Todd Louiso	...	Steve
Dyan Cannon	...	Annette Bennett
David Spade	...	Ernie
Joe Pesci	...	Tommy
Anthony Mangano	...	Rico
Joe Basile	...	Benny
Frank Roman	...	Paco
Howard George	...	Big Sep
Tom Platz	...	Head of Hugo
Endre Hules	...	Head of Marty
Calvin Levels	...	Head of Jamal

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #35165) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Germany:12

Company:

Orion Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Continuity: Chain latch on hotel door reappears after falling off.

Quotes:

Ernie: Are you telling us that you're gonna find a replacement for the head Charlie lost?
Tommy Spinelli: [looking through a year book] Yeah. We got some time to kill before we go to the airport.
Steve: But these are human beings. Innocent people. You can't just kill innocent people because they look like somebody else.
Tommy Spinelli: Let me tell you something, college boy, nobody is innocent. Now who is he?
Steve: He's my anatomy professor. He almost flunked me.
Tommy Spinelli: Good. Here's your chance to get even with the prick. Get me his address.
Steve: Alrighty.

Movie Connections:

References Goodfellas (1990)

Soundtrack:

Aquellos Dos Que Se Amaban

A Pleasant Surprise

The rest of the IMDb reviewers have got it about right. This is a good film. Nothing special or brilliant, but it does what it sets out to do which is to make you laugh - and it does so much better than most films of its kind.

I started watching this expecting to change channels quite quickly. I only gave it a chance at all because Joe Pesci was in it - which is never a bad asset for a film. What happened was I found myself smiling quite a lot, and then laughing quite a lot. Not uproariously or uncontrollably. But out loud, and more than once.

Pesci is good - but so is just about everyone else. And the script is wickedly funny too. It's much less predictable than most of its kind, There are twists which are genuinely surprising and interesting, and the film stays pretty fresh (even though in truth it's probably 20 minutes too long).

I'm quite a harsh marker, so a 6 from me is quite a compliment for a film like this. Well-written, nicely-paced, silly without being annoying, and containing some funny performances and a lot of good moments, you will like this one if you give it a chance.