Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Cameron Diaz | ... | Jude | |
Ron Eldard | ... | Pete | |
Annabeth Gish | ... | Paulie | |
Jonathan Penner | ... | Marc | |
Courtney B. Vance | ... | Luke | |
Bill Paxton | ... | Zachary Cody | |
Nora Dunn | ... | Sheriff Alice Stanley | |
Ron Perlman | ... | Norman Arbuthnot | |
Dan Rosen | ... | Deputy Hartford | |
Amber Taylor | ... | Girl in Coffee Shop | |
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Matt Cooper | ... | Jerk in Coffee Shop |
Charles Durning | ... | Rev. Gerald Hutchens | |
Mark Harmon | ... | Dominant Male | |
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Gil Segel | ... | Iowa Resident at Door |
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Rachel Chagall | ... | Abortion Activist |
Jude, Luke, Marc, Paulie and Pete are liberal-minded roommates and grad students at a Iowa post-secondary institution. Every Sunday for the past year, they have hosted a dinner party, inviting a friend over to have an open-minded discussion about whatever topics are of interest. On a dark and stormy night when Pete was supposed to bring a friend for one of those dinners, he instead comes home with Zachary Cody, who rescued a stranded Pete whose car broke down. They invite Zach to stay for dinner instead of Pete's missing friend. They soon find out that Zach is among other things a racist neo-Nazi, which brings up a potentially dangerous situation for Jewish Marc and black Luke. After some physical altercations and verbal threats, Marc ends up stabbing Zach dead out of what he considers self-defense. As the friends discuss what to do about Zach, they finally come to the conclusion that in killing Zach, they have done society a service. So they ponder 'why not invite other ... Written by Huggo
Try to analyze this: the year is 1919 and the action takes place in Wien. You are in a café with a young man called Adolf Hitler. At the moment, he's not one of the most horrible murderers that the world knew. Are you going to kill him? Remember this: he hasn't killed no-one yet. This enigma fills with enthusiasm five students who took into their heads to eliminate the fellows which ideas of the far right can be considered as dangerous and harmful to the society.
This movie tries and succeeds to show that although we are endowed with good intentions, we can be induced to commit blindly crimes, so-called for the public good. But there is one thing that these students forget: of course, these victims who are either members of the far right or either supporters of nasty opinions remain human beings who killed no-one (except Zack who is the murderer of a little girl) and it's normal that the woman-cop wonders about Zack's disappearance. As the film goes along, these students who, at first, are filled with good feelings are coming to become real sadistic executioners: their meals become questionings and they're even inviting a minor high-school girl! At the end, after they had invited a far right leader, they'll be caught in their own trap because this far right leader isn't so rough and racist as he looks like. The most racist isn't the one you think about...
The performance is globally correct except Cameron Diaz who isn't up to it and fits quite badly in her role. Nevertheless, a fine black humor, some brilliant dialogs that encourage reflection and a sober making make this movie, a honourable success even if this one lacks of his appeal during the outside sequences to the meals