Crime Spree (2003)

Director:

Brad Mirman

Writer (WGA):

Brad Mirman (written by)

Release Date:

16 April 2003 (France)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

A side-splitting action comedy with a dream cast!

Plot:

A French gang of thieves flies over to Chicago for a one time job. However things seem to get out of hand soon.

Plot Keywords:

French | Mafia | FBI | Street Gang | Zippo Lighter

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Daniel Foray
Harvey Keitel	...	Frankie Zammeti
Johnny Hallyday	...	Marcel Burot
Renaud	...	Zero
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Sami
Stéphane Freiss	...	Julien Labesse
Shawn Lawrence	...	Agent Pogue
Albert Dray	...	Raymond Gayet
Joanne Kelly	...	Sophie Nicols
Richard Bohringer	...	Bastaldi
Abe Vigoda	...	Angelo Giancarlo
Gino Marrocco	...	Joey Two Tons
Sal Figliomeni	...	Nicky The Rake
Diego Chambers	...	Raphael
Carlos Diaz	...	Hector

Also Known As:

Wanted (France)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

Germany:98 min | Argentina:98 min | Spain:95 min (DVD edition)

Country:

France | USA | Canada | UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:15 (DVD) | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Spain:13 | Germany:16 | USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

GFT Entertainment

Trivia:

Marcel and Zero are respectively played by Johnny Hallyday and Renaud, two of the most famous French rock singers. In the scene where the two are fighting to decide which radio station they'll listen to, they each want to listen to their own song - Marcel wants to listen to some Johnny Hallyday, and Zero wants to listen to some Renaud.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Frankie Zammeti throws the spaghetti, the remaining spaghetti on the plate changes between shots.

Quotes:

Zero: No smoking, no drinking? What kind of country is this?

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

My Love, Forgive Me (Amore, Scusami)

USA gets hilariously frogged

If you are familiar with both American and French culture, this movie is hilarious. If you are not familiar with the frog culture, you won't get all the jokes, but there should be enough jokes left to enjoy yourself seriously. This is one very well-made crime-comedy. The movie does not suffer from overacting and the jokes are not laid on heavily. The actors are superb and seem to have had a great time making this movie. The script is intelligent and funny.

Let me explain one joke for those who are not familiar with French culture: during the bar scene in Paris, the Johnny Halliday and Renaud characters (they are popular singers in real life) repeatedly switch off the other guy's music to play their own recording. And I was impressed by the way they played tough criminals. Good acting !

On a personal note, this movie was a very nice surprise for me, who have lived in France for many years and speak French fluently. I had picked up the DVD in the video store only because I saw Harvey Keitel's name on the cover. The title did not mean anything to me and I did not bother to read anything else on the cover. Harvey Keitel was enough assurance the movie would at least be OK. Then the movie starts in total darkness, with some people whispering. At first I did not understand what was said, as I was expecting to hear English, but no, they spoke French. And for the next 10 to 15 minutes, it was a French movie set in Paris. I was sure they had put the wrong DVD in the box, but I did not mind so much as I found the movie entertaining. Then of course the action moved to the USA...