Stark Raving Mad (2002)

Directors:

Drew Daywalt
David Schneider

Writers:

Drew Daywalt (concept) and
Patrick Kiely (concept) ...

Release Date:

23 May 2002 (Russia)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

They've got The DJ, The Club, The Amps and The Plans to The Bank. It's Party Time!

Plot:

A crook quietly plots his revenge against the boss who murdered his brother while working for him.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Power Drill | Drug Trip | Heist Movie | Techno Music

Cast

Seann William Scott	...	Ben McGewan
Timm Sharp	...	Rikki Simms
Patrick Breen	...	Jeffrey Jay
John B. Crye	...	Jake Nealson (as John Crye)
Suzy Nakamura	...	Betty Shin (as Suzi Nakamura)
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Gregory
Dave Foley	...	Roy
Kavan Smith	...	Michael Frakes
Paul Hungerford	...	Scott
Monet Mazur	...	Vanessa
Jody Racicot	...	D.J.
Terry Chen	...	Jin Sun
Yee Jee Tso	...	Chan (Gang Member #1)
Ty Olsson	...	Nate (Goon)
Carl McDonald	...	Mitchell (Trannie)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

Argentina:102 min | UK:101 min | Spain:96 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R (#38715) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Canada:18A (Canadian Home Video rating) | France:U | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Newmarket Capital Group

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ben throws down the giant dildo, it goes under a box of some sort. After Ben leaves, it has moved out into the open floor where it is kicked.

Quotes:

Scott: So what are you doing now?
Jeffrey Jay: I rob banks.
Scott: What you doin here then?
Jeffrey Jay: Robbing a bank.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Creepies (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Time Travel

An edgy, fast-paced movie

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie. I couldn't figure out why it was released in theatres in other countries but not in North America, didn't make sense. And after watching it, I'm even more puzzled, I mean this is a really good movie, edgy and fast-paced. Drew Daywalt and Dave Schneider did a great job with this. Seann William Scott (Ben McGewen) made a complete departure from his Stifler character of the American Pie movies, and that is what being an actor is all about. Timm Sharp (Rikki Simms) was really good playing the guy on the edge of a complete and total breakdown. The thieving trio of Patrick Breen (Jeffrey Jay), John B. Crye (Jake Nealson) and Suzy Nakamura (Betty Shin) were believably on the verge of killing each other in the process of helping their friend Ben make this final score.

Lou Diamond Phillips (Gregory) with his shocking white hair was at his intensely malicious best here. He played it completely straight and hard. I have recently seen Lone Hero which he literally finished filming just days before beginning work on his scenes in Stark Raving Mad and the transformation was a double shock from long black hair to short white. Anyway, Gregory is a mob boss intent on collecting a debt left behind by Ben's deceased brother, Kevin. Ben is equally intent on paying off this debt and being done with the likes of Gregory. He enlists the help of his best friend Rikki and the larcenous trinity of Betty, Jake and Jeffrey to pull off a daring bank vault robbery. The bank happens to share a wall with a nightclub providing the opportunity of the perfect cover for the job. Ben works it out with the club's owner, played by Adam Arkin, to hold a rave but the owner is having second thoughts about it and becomes a potential obstacle to Ben's success. Another obstacle comes in the guise of the DJ played by Jody Racicot. The DJ who was originally hired couldn't make it so this guy shows up with his records and an attitude. Obstacle number three is, of course, a girl, played by Monet Mazur as Vanessa, neither the actress nor the character added anything to the story.

All is going according to plan, albeit slowly and not without an assortment of problems small and large when Ben notices the noise in the club is decreasing, this is a bad thing as the bank vault alarm will go off if the vibrations from the noise drop below a certain level. Ben goes out to check with his doorman Dirk, played by Canadian character actor, C. Ernst Harth who seems to be appearing in just about everything these days. Dirk informs his boss that there are a lot of kids trying to pass off fake ids to get in, conveniently there's one suspicious young lady right there who insists that the id is not fake, she just changed her hair colour and proceeds to lift her dress to prove her point. C. Ernst gives one of the best visual reactions I've ever seen.

The snappy dialogue, driving backbeat, and a talented cast equal a very watchable and enjoyable movie and the commentary track on the DVD is hilarious. I give it a solid 9/10.