Best Men (1997)

The film opens with four tuxedo clad men showing up at a penitentiary to meet a friend who has just been released after three years in prison and is going straight from the jail to marry ... See full summary »

Director:

Tamra Davis

Writers:

Art Edler Brown, Tracy Fraim

Stars:

Dean Cain, Andy Dick, Sean Patrick Flanery

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dean Cain	...	Buzz
Andy Dick	...	Teddy
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Billy
Mitchell Whitfield	...	Sol
Luke Wilson	...	Jesse
Fred Ward	...	Sheriff Phillips
Raymond J. Barry	...	Hoover
Drew Barrymore	...	Hope
Brad Dourif	...	The Vet
Tracy Fraim	...	Cuervo
Art Edler Brown	...	Carter
Jeff Phillips	...	The Rookie
Biff Yeager	...	Mayor Boar (as Biff Yaeger)
Kathryn Joosten	...	Edie
Dee Maaske	...	Dorothy

Storyline

The film opens with four tuxedo clad men showing up at a penitentiary to meet a friend who has just been released after three years in prison and is going straight from the jail to marry his girlfriend. En route to the wedding, one of the men asks to stop by a bank to pick up some cash. As it turns out, he is a wanted bank robber who uses Shakespeare passages during his robberies and thus has become known as "Hamlet". Soon all five men are caught up in the bank and involved in the robbery as they end up in a hostage situation. The hostage negotiator shows up who turns out to be Hamlet's father. As the men are all known to those being robbed, this quirky comedy takes a left turn as their hostages all work to support the men.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to william shakespeare | title directed by female | best man | reference to shakespeare's hamlet | chase | 

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Taglines:

A comedy thriller about four men, a wedding and everybody's funeral.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Independence

Filming Locations:

Front Street, Norwalk, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA), Orion Pictures, The Rank Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite the fact that this was filmed in Super 35, "Filmed in Panavision" is listed in the end credits.

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Quotes

Billy Phillips: Oh, and Dad? Fuck you!

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Connections

References Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

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Soundtracks

Cold Summer
Performed by Buffalo Daughter
Written & Produced by Buffalo Daughter
Recorded & Mixed by Zak
Appears on 'Captain Vapour Athletes' (GR030)
Courtesy of Grand Royal Records

User Reviews

Uneven homage to 'Dog Day Afternoon'

There is a bank robber known as Hamlet working the area who quotes Shakespeare during his robberies. Four friends Buzz (Dean Cain), Teddy (Andy Dick), Billy (Sean Patrick Flanery), and Sol (Mitchell Whitfield) have come to pick up Jesse (Luke Wilson) from prison released after around 3 years. They are all dressed in tuxedos going to Jesse's wedding with Hope (Drew Barrymore). Billy is dropped off at the bank who turns out to be the masked bandit Hamlet. Then the rest of the guys go into the bank. They are surprised by Billy's bank robbery, and join in. Sheriff Phillips (Fred Ward) surrounds the group, and turns out to be Billy's dad.

This is a poor copy of 'Dog Day Afternoon'. Billy is way too pathetic. The FBI is way too ridiculous. The other people in the group makes no sense. It's trying to be a quirky action comedy. Except that it's more stupid than funny. And it's a horrible idea to have Andy Dick who is hamming it up for the camera. I think the filmmakers are attempting at a Tarantino-like DDA movie but they don't have the skills to pull it off. It comes off as a weak homage to the great movie.