The Bridge to Nowhere (2009)

Director:

Blair Underwood

Writer:

Chris Gutierrez (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 August 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

Centers on the rise and fall of four blue-collar men who team with a destitute prostitute to create a high-priced escort service.

Cast

Ving Rhames
Bijou Phillips	...	Jasper
Danny Masterson	...	Kevin
Ben Crowley	...	Brian
Daniel London	...	Chris
Thomas Ian Nicholas	...	Eddie Stanton
Alexandra Breckenridge	...	Sienna
Sean Derry	...	Darick
Annie Kitral	...	Brian's mom
Alanna Romansky	...	Kimberly
Tom Kurlander	...	Realtor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Falconer Hudson	...	Police officer
John W. Iwanonkiw	...	Deputy Sheriff
Mike Miklosko	...	Police Officer
Corey Rieger	...	Partygoer
Max Starks	...	Prisoner

MPAA:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Smithfield Street Productions

Pimpin' in the Pitts.

Four lads stuck in their dead-end ways in Pittsburgh strike upon a scheme to get lots of money and claw their way out of their lowly position. They decide to become pimps. Unfortunately, the girls are only the first part of the plan. To keep the girls happy they need a regular supply of drugs. Then eventually someone buys some guns. Before you can say "increasing paranoia" things look like they're about to come tumbling down around their ears.

It's a rise and fall type of movie that we've all seen many times before and, quite frankly, for the first 20 minutes or so it borders on the tedious. Thankfully, Ving Rhames then comes on the scene, playing a drug dealer who also advises the young men on their radical new business scheme. From then on things get a bit more entertaining though there's still nothing original on display.

The cast is very varied (Bijou Philips and Sean Derry do great, Ben Crowley and Thomas Ian Nicholas don't and Danny Masterson just hangs around on the fringes for most of the proceedings) which doesn't help sell the material but there's always a little fun to be had from watching people rise so quickly that you know the fall is soon coming.

Director Blair Underwood doesn't dazzle, and should really stick to his acting career as any quality moments come from the occasional decent line from the script, but he also doesn't fall flat on his face so may be there will be improvement over time if he tries to be a little bit more daring with material that can easily feel stale before it even starts to pull you in. It's passable fare but nothing worth going out of your way to see.

See this if you like: Alpha Dog, 8 Mile, Risky Business.