Suicide Kings (1997)

Director:

Peter O'Fallon

Writers (WGA):

Josh McKinney (screenplay) and
Gina Goldman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

Their plan was perfect... they weren't.

Plot:

A group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.

Plot Keywords:

Mobster | Kidnapping | Mafia | Rich Kid | Bloodshed

Cast

Mark Watson	...	Doorman
Christopher Walken	...	Carlo Bartolucci / Charlie Barret
Denis Leary	...	Lono Veccio
Nina Siemaszko	...	Jennifer
Jay Della	...	Bartender (as Jay Fiondella)
Henry Thomas	...	Avery Chasten
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Max Minot
Nathan Dana Aldrich	...	Marcus (as Nathan Dana)
Jay Mohr	...	Brett Cambell
Jeremy Sisto	...	T. K.
Frank Medrano	...	Heckle
Brad Garrett	...	Jeckyll
James Peter 'JP' O'Fallon Jr.	...	Kid #1
Nicholas Huttloff	...	Kid #2
Trent Bross	...	Maitre D'

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for some nudity and drug use.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | France:-12 | Germany:16 (video premiere) | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | USA:R (# 35488)

Filming Locations:

City of Industry, California, USA

Company:

Live Entertainment

Trivia:

With the exception of the "Mickey Mantle" speech, Denis Leary improvised all of his dialogue.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end Brett is pointing the gun at Avery, when he walks away Brett puts the gun on the table in front of him and sits on the couch, in the next shot up close Brett has the gun in his hand again.

Quotes:

Charlie Barret: Anybody wants to hold hands with my dick, I insist they buy me a drink first. I mean, after all, I'm not asking for dinner and dancing.

Movie Connections:

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

Soundtrack:

Shattered

Dark, yet oddly funny

I taped this movie on the USA Network at three o'clock in the morning, watched it some time afterward, and I was blown away by this film. Former gangster Carlo Bartolucci aka Charlie Barrett (Christopher Walken in one of his best roles ever) attends a bistro where he finds that a group of swaggering young men, consisting of Max (Sean Patrick Flanery), Avery (Henry Thomas), Brett (Jay Mohr), T.K. (Jeremy Sisto), and Ira (Johnny Galecki), have taken over his usual booth. Charmed by the guys, Charlie takes them for a ride, only for them to knock him out with some chloroform while going down the Queens tunnel in a hilarious sequence. Charlie regains consciousness inside of Ira's mansion taped to a chair with one of his fingers missing, having been cut off to compensate for Avery's kidnapped sister's missing limb. The guys keep Charlie prisoner in the mansion, but soon, Charlie starts to play head games with them, and it soon becomes obvious that there is a traitor in their midst.

This darkly humorous crime thriller can be described in the most simple terms as "The Breakfast Club" meets "The Godfather" or something like that, even though I myself never saw "The Godfather." Walken is increasingly laughter-provoking, suave, and creepy all at the same time as he delivers witticism after witticism despite his usual situation. Four of the lead males (Henry Thomas, Jay Mohr, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Jeremy Sisto) all portray swaggering rich boys, while Johnny Galecki (David from TV's "Roseanne") is screamingly funny as the nitpicking nerd of the bunch and Denis Leary is his usual laid-back self as slick and wisecracking gangster Lono (what a funny name!).

I said it once and I'll say it again -- "Suicide Kings" is a darkly comical film, but it is highly recommended (for those with kids) that you watch this either late at night or while the kids are away.

I give "Suicide Kings" a 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10 in my humble opinion.