Clay Pigeons (1998)

After hearing that his wife sleeps with Clay, Earl kills himself, making it look like Clay shot him. The widow doesn't like it when Clay starts sees another woman instead. Bodies start piling up.

Director:

David Dobkin

Writer:

Matthew L. Healy (as Matt Healy)

Stars:

Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Clay
Gregory Sporleder	...	Earl
Georgina Cates	...	Amanda
Scott Wilson	...	Sheriff Mooney
Vince Vieluf	...	Deputy Barney
Wayne Brennan	...	Minister
Joseph D. Reitman	...	Glen
Vince Vaughn	...	Lester
Nicole Arlyn	...	Gloria (as Nikki Arlyn)
Jeff Olson	...	Mark
Monica Moench	...	Kimberly
Kevin Rahm	...	Bystander at Amanda's
Jesse Bennett	...	Dr. Jaffe
Phil Morris	...	Agent Reynard
Janeane Garofalo	...	Agent Shelby

Storyline

Clay is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend kill himself because of the on-going affair that Clay was having with the man's wife. Feeling guilty, Clay now resists the widow when she presses him to continue with their sexual affairs. Clay befriends a troubling serial killer.

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Plot Keywords:

anal sex | strong female character | murder of a nude woman | female nudity | nudity | 

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Taglines:

Some killers are strange, some are deranged, and some are just plain psycho.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong scenes of sexuality, language and violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was released in Germany under the title "Lebende Ziele", which translates to "Living Purposes". It can also be translated as "Living Targets". Purposes is not often translated as "Ziele". That use of "Ziel" would be more a goal, not a purpose, and that makes not much sense for this movie. Then again, German translations often miss any kind of double meanings in original movie names.

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Goofs

The shot starts off with a full sized powdered donut being dipped into a red coffee mug that's obviously too small for the huge donut. Next shot is Clay's boss bringing a half-eaten donut to his mouth as Clay walks into the shop, apparently late again. He looks over his shoulder, and back to the donut. He then brings a large white styrofoam coffee cup into frame and dips the last bit of donut into it.

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Quotes

Lester Long: I'm like a big fireworks show. I'm very bright.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits Lester Long says "You gotta good sense of humor, I like that" and does his bizarre laugh.

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Alternate Versions

Dutch video version oddly has all expletives erased or edited. Shot of naked corpse floating in water has been censored.

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Connections

References Fargo (1996)

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Soundtracks

Let Your Love Flow
Written by Larry E Wiliams (as Larry E. Williams)
Performed by Sister Hazel
Courtesy of Universal Records

User Reviews

Quirky and enjoyable

A young man ,Clay, who lives in a small town witnesses a friend commit suicide because of affairs Clay has had with his girlfriend. Clay covers the suicide up to make it look like an accident, however death and murder continue when Clay becomes involved with an affable but murderous cowboy.

Joaquin Phoenix is very good in his role and works extremely well on screen with Vince Vaughn who is always great to see in anything. The cinematography is top notch and the music works incredibly well to all round create an off beat, interesting and watchable effort. The ending could have been better but this an enjoyable 'independent' film none the less.

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

In Too Deep

Filming Locations:

30 West 100 South, US Highway 30 and 191 Brigham City, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$167,364, 27 September 1998

Gross USA:

$1,794,086

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,794,086

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fade In Films, IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. Produktions KG, Intermedia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White (flashback sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1