Suicide Kings (1997)

A group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.

Director:

Peter O'Fallon

Writers:

Josh McKinney (screenplay), Gina Goldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Watson	...	Doorman
Christopher Walken	...	Carlo Bartolucci / Charlie Barret
Denis Leary	...	Lono Veccio
Nina Siemaszko	...	Jennifer
Jay Della	...	Bartender (as Jay Fiondella)
Henry Thomas	...	Avery Chasten
Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Max Minot
Nathan Dana Aldrich	...	Marcus (as Nathan Dana)
Jay Mohr	...	Brett Cambell
Jeremy Sisto	...	T. K.
Frank Medrano	...	Heckle
Brad Garrett	...	Jeckyll
James Peter 'JP' O'Fallon Jr.	...	Kid #1
Nicholas Huttloff	...	Kid #2
Trent Bross	...	Maitre D'

Storyline

Ex-mob boss Christopher Walken is kidnapped by a group of four kids in a haphazard attempt at paying the ransom for another, separate kidnapping. Complexities arise as the group cannot seem to do anything right.

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Plot Keywords:

mobster | ransom | beating | mafia | rich kid | 

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Taglines:

Their plan was perfect... they weren't.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for some nudity and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Asi in suicid

Filming Locations:

Fire Station 23 - 225 E. 5th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$558,081, 19 April 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,692,872, 12 July 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Live Entertainment, Dinamo Entertainment, Eyes 'n Rice

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

With the exception of the "Mickey Mantle" speech, Denis Leary improvised all of his dialogue.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie during the standoff when Dennis Leary's character enters the room, Christopher Walken tells Henry Thomas's character to put down the gun ("put the gun down, Henry") by calling him his real name instead of the character's name, Avery.

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Quotes

Charlie Barret: Wait, wait... BOAT? What BOAT?

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Crazy Credits

The credits run like scratched up film is going through a projector (similar to the beginning of the film). The movie ends/post credits with this scratched film burning up and melting.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Let Me Go! (2011)

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Soundtracks

Sling Shot
Written by Reverend Horton Heat (as James Heath), Jim Wallace, Scott Churilla
Performed by Reverend Horton Heat
Courtesy of Interscope Records under license from Universal Special markets

User Reviews

Excellent acting, mediocre film

The premise of Suicide Kings - four young and privileged men kidnap a retired mob boss played by Christopher Walken - is appealing. So much so that it makes me wish it made for a better film.

Suicide Kings tries to be a psychological thriller focusing on mental cat-and-mouse games between the mobsters and his kidnappers, and the actors are good enough to pull it off - in fact, they're good enough to make you think that there's any psychological depth to the film, when really there's none. Walken and the talented young cast - Denis Leary, Jay Mohr, Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints), Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) and Henry Thomas (E.T's Elliot all grown up) - all deliver their lines with so much passion and conviction that you almost don't notice how messy and shallow the script really is.

This fine group of actors - and Walken's wildly charismatic performance most of all, from an actor so powerful he can dominate the film while being tied to a chair for all but a few minutes of it - is more than enough to make the film entertaining, even very enjoyable. The weak script, which deteriorates into cheap twists and conspiracies towards the end - makes it entirely forgettable. A quick comparison to Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave is a testament to how much more comfortable the British are with theatrical minimalism. With a great director and a great script, Suicide Kings could have been something wonderful. As it is, it's good enough for one pleasurable watch, but leaves no mark and no impression.