Hacks (1997/I)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Gary Rosen

Writer (WGA):

Gary Rosen (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Comedy

Plot:

Brian is a television writer-producer who has to script a 22-episode anthology, but lacks inspiration...

Plot Keywords:

Satire | Independent Film

Cast

Stephen Rea	...	Brian
Illeana Douglas	...	Georgia Feckler
John Ritter	...	Hank
Dave Foley	...	Neal
Richard Kind	...	Benny
Dusty Kay	...	Ira Gold
Tom Arnold	...	Danny
Robert Patrick	...	Goatee
Ryan O'Neal	...	Dr. Applefield
Ricky Jay	...	The Hat
Jason Priestley	...	The Dude
Olivia d'Abo	...	Lynn
Matt Clark	...	Bus Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lisa Kudrow	...	Reading Woman
Kim Lores	...	Mrs. Danny
Bob Odenkirk	...	Cellmate

Also Known As:

Sink or Swim (USA) (video title)
The Big Twist (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, and for some sexuality and drug content.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R | Iceland:12

Company:

Rigorous

Movie Connections:

References Speed (1994/I)

Saw this as "The Big Twist"

I saw this a few weeks back on HBO and was: a) suprised I hadn't heard of it before, with such a strong cast and all. b) thoroughly entertained. The dialogue and performances were great. c) wondering how it managed to get two other titles...

The late John Ritter works well with Dave Foley, both skilled comedic actors who seem very relaxed and into the material.

Richard Kind plays a typical type of character for him, but he's good (that's why he plays this type).

I am a Stephen Rea fan (he has made some mediocre films bearable) and thought his performance here was particularly good. He's playing all dopey and whatnot...well, I won't give much of the plot away, but the title "The Big Twist" seems appropriate.

"Sink or Swim"! What kind of title is that?! It's like saying "Swimming with Sharks Part Two!" "Hacks" is more appropriate, and as mentioned before, I like the title "The Big Twist." So, why change the name so many times? Was the idea to sell the film like some sort of retitled Independent International picture, giving it a new title to trick people into seeing the same film more than once?

Darned if I know. I do know this is a good film, not great (it should have been longer) but it is good. All the other performances are sharp, the director is in control, and the dialogue simply crackles.

Recommended (especially to writers)...