29 Palms (2002)

Director:

Leonardo Ricagni

Writer:

Tino Lucente (writer)

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Comedy | Crime

Plot:

This is the story of a bag of money and the people who come into contact with it. |

Plot Keywords:

Bag | Bag Of Money | Hitman | Native American Reservation | Corrupt Judge

Cast

Jeremy Davies	...	The Drifter
Michael Lerner	...	The Judge
Litefoot	...	The Warrior #1 (as G. Paul Davis a.k.a Litefoot)
Russell Means	...	The Chief
Chris O'Donnell	...	The Hitman
Jon Polito	...	The Security Guard
Kevin Sifuentes	...	The Head of Security
Michael Rapaport	...	The Cop
Anita Maltin	...	The Old Lady
Bill Pullman	...	The Ticket Clerk
Keith David	...	The Sheriff
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	The Waitress
P.J. Byrne	...	The Doctor
Carlos Mencia	...	The Comedian

Also Known As:

Twenty-nine Palms (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use.

Runtime:

Brazil:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | USA:R | Germany:16 | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Coachella Valley, Mecca, California, USA

Company:

B. Lord Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the bus is stolen, someone can be seen walking behind an adjacent bus.

Soundtrack:

Smooth Shoes

Decent moments, but overall uninteresting!

A richly photographed ensemble piece about several characters attempts of obtain a bag of money. Nothing deep, just a quirky and sometimes funny film that uses coincidences similar to the 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrell's' motif. It never quite works as a hilarious caper film, and neither does the viewer enable any feeling for the main protagonist in the Drifter played by Jeremy Davies.

'29 Palms' does have it's moments though particular during the scenes with Michael Rappaport as the nasty cop, who has some of the funniest lines. Joe Polito does a decent job, but his character is overly annoying and fairly stupid. Bill Pullman is a welcome edition, but again, short-lived and not really given an essential character to play. Chris O'Donnell makes an interesting, if not decent, hit-man character. None of the characters are really developed except Jeremy Davies one, and Rachel Leigh Cook's character. '29 Palms' would have got a far better score if it was more entertaining and less reliant on coincidences as plot-devices which has been done before. I did like some of the flashback moments and interactions but the main reasoning to also partially dislike this film is because it should have had a better ending. The ending was just plain weak, and the only redeeming factor from it was the very last line, but the entire sequence itself was stupid and nonsensical. I could hardly recommend this film, as it became tiresome and irritating, though it certainly had it's moments to give it an average score. **1/2 out of *****!