Chain of Fools (2000)

Salma Hayek plays an avid detective assigned to the heist of a batch of precious coins that end up in the hands of a suicidal barber.

Directors:

Pontus Löwenhielm, Patrick von Krusenstjerna

Writer:

Bix Skahill

Stars:

Steve Zahn, Salma Hayek, Jeff Goldblum

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Zahn	...	Kresk
Salma Hayek	...	Kolko
Jeff Goldblum	...	Avnet
Elijah Wood	...	Mikey
David Cross	...	Andy
Tom Wilkinson	...	Bollingsworth
Orlando Jones	...	Miss Cocoa
Kevin Corrigan	...	Paulie
David Hyde Pierce	...	Mr. Kerner
Lara Flynn Boyle	...	Karen
John Cassini	...	Henchman
Michael Rapaport	...	Hitman
Myndy Crist	...	Jeannie
Craig Ferguson	...	Melander Stevens
Devin Douglas Drewitz	...	Scottie (as Devin Drewitz)

Storyline

"Chain of Fools" is a heist comedy-romance about a hapless barber whose life takes a turn for the worse when he ends up in possession of a stolen treasure of ancient coins (the "Shiny New Enemies") and simultaneously falls on the wrong side of the law and in love with the detective investigating the crime.

---

Plot Keywords:

coin | hitman | suicide | dog bite | boy scout | 

---

Taglines:

Why should smart people get all the money?

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shiny New Enemies

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bel Air Entertainment, City Block Productions, Lord-Weaver

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Claudia Schiffer was originally cast as Karen.

---

Goofs

When Mikey (Elijah Wood) is about to shoot Bollingsworth (Tom Wilkinson), he points a Walther P99 pistol at him. The pistol is, however, not cocked as revealed by the absence of the bright red "cocked" indicator below the rear sights. This would make it impossible for the weapon to fire. (This may have been an intentional precaution by the filmmakers as the weapon has no safety switch.)

---

Quotes

Mickey: Who are you?
Hitman: I'm the Hitman, who are you?
Mickey: I'm the hitman.

---

Soundtracks

"Toccatina"
Written by Horst Ramthor
Courtesy of Associated Production Music, LLC

User Reviews

Traktor's first movie - man, what a good way to become immortal

The movie opens on March 9 in Sweden. The team behind the movie, Traktor, are Swedish and therefore the world premiere is in Sweden. The celebrity premiere, yes there are such in Sweden too, was tonight at 7PM, and Traktor was presenting the movie. Jeff Goldblum should have been at the gala, but had to be in NYC to shoot a new film. He said hello in a very special way, with a short recording just for the gala audience, where he was doing jokes, singing "drinking songs" and wishing he had some Swedish Herring.

Chain of Fools is Traktor's first movie. They have done tons of commercials, but never a movie. Chain of Fools is their first stab at the silver screen - and man, what a good way to become immortal.

Steve Zahn is down on his luck, well, a loser. He is doing nothing, just being a loser... but by accident he get into both this and that. The movie is smart and moves from one thing to another and back again. The way the story is described and played in the movie, is similar to "Pulp Fiction", "O'Brother", "Numbers" and "True Romance". It's a blend, but you will feel right at home if you enjoyed those flicks. A dark, whacky and sarcastic humor poors out of the film.

Bottom line, I highly recommend this movie if you are into the earlier mentioned - even though the concept doesn't feel as fresh any more.