Comic Book Villains (2002) (V)

Director:

James Robinson

Writer (WGA):

James Robinson (written by)

Release Date:

1 January 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Obsession. Betrayal. Revenge. And other funny business.

Plot:

Told from the point of view from Archie, a comic book collector, this is the story of a rivalry between two comic book shop owners...

Plot Keywords:

Comics | Comic Book | Comic Book Shop | Rivalry | Comic Book Collector

Cast

Donal Logue	...	Raymond McGillicudy
Cary Elwes	...	Carter
Michael Rapaport	...	Norman Link
Natasha Lyonne	...	Judy
DJ Qualls	...	Archie
Eileen Brennan	...	Mrs. Cresswell
Monet Mazur	...	Kiki
Danny Masterson	...	Conan
James Duval	...	Baz
Marshall Bell	...	Gun Store Order
Chris Weber	...	Tony
Denny Kirkwood	...	Dino
Irene Montalà	...	Woman in Barcelona
Donnal Ward	...	Normal Customer
Ric Borelli	...	Slob

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | USA:R

Company:

Capital Arts Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: During the fight at the end between Ray and Carter, the image is flipped. Ray's cast moves from his right to his left hand, the gun from the right to the left. When Carter shoves him through the door it is a left hand opening door. It is corrected when Ray comes back through the door.

Quotes:

Raymond: What are you smiling at?
Carter: Nothing, it's just I thought I was dealing with fools.
Raymond: But now you see differently.
Carter: No, I don't.

Movie Connections:

References Mallrats (1995)

Brilliant and deranged

I found this to be one of the funniest dark comedies I have seen in a long time. To me the plot and the characters all rolled naturally and convincingly. It is an inevitable facet of black comedy that it tends to work off caricatures, movies like any of David Lynch's or things like Barton Fink, etc. The dynamic depends on showing up the subtle madness that we see around us every day. What made this movie work especially well for me was that the characters were all convincing, all in their way sympathetic. I could relate to all of them, which made the final descent into madness that much more fun. They didn't have to quite be caricatures to make the completely insane decisions they made convincing.