Jerry and Tom (1998)

Tom and Jerry are two hit men, they work by day at a third-rate second-hand car dealership. Tom is a veteran and Jerry is a novice in their business, and their attitude toward their ... See full summary »

Director:

Saul Rubinek

Writers:

Rick Cleveland (play), Rick Cleveland (screenplay)

Stars:

Joe Mantegna, Sam Rockwell, Maury Chaykin

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joe Mantegna	...	Tom
Sam Rockwell	...	Jerry
Maury Chaykin	...	Billy
Ted Danson	...	The Guy Who Loved Vicki
Charles Durning	...	Vic
William H. Macy	...	Karl
Peter Riegert	...	Stanley
Sarah Polley	...	Deb
Shelley Cook	...	Vicki Torrance
Dwayne McLean	...	'B' Movie Bad Guy #1
Billy Oliver	...	'B' Movie Bad Guy #2
C.J. Lusby	...	'B' Movie Actress (as C.J. Fiddler)
Alyson Court	...	Jacki
Graeme Millington	...	Brad
Lindsey Connell	...	Sandra

Storyline

Tom and Jerry are two hit men, they work by day at a third-rate second-hand car dealership. Tom is a veteran and Jerry is a novice in their business, and their attitude toward their profession differs a lot. It shows when Tom is required to kill his old friend Karl.

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | telling a joke | waiter | verbal abuse | swastika | 

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Taglines:

These Guys Make The Sopranos Sing!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and pervasive language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1998 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Jerry & Tom

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Directorial debut of Saul Rubinek.

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Goofs

Tom wrongly states that Bobby Kennedy was killed two years after John Kennedy's assassination in 1963. The exact year was 1968, which makes as five years later.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tom: You want us to take the hood off for a while?
Stanley: No thanks.
Tom: Could be a while, make it easier to breathe...
Stanley: I'm okay.
Tom: Suit yourself.

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Crazy Credits

"For Israel Rubinek (1920-1996)"

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Connections

References The Killers (1964)

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Soundtracks

Mannish Boy
Written by Melvin London, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters
Performed by Muddy Waters

User Reviews

Wry Black Comedy

One has to have a morbid sense of humor to enjoy this wry black comedy about two used car salesmen who moonlight as contract killers. The comedy is very tongue in cheek as these two miscreants matter-of-factly whack a dozen or so marked men while bickering over trivialities.

The gag is funny at first, but wears thin as we are treated to minor variations on the same theme for an hour and a half. Other than some innovative scene transitions, the direction by veteran TV director Saul Rubinek was nothing special, except I suppose he made good use of a very limited budget. The story was taken from a play by Rick Cleveland, (`The West Wing' TV series) and Rubinek maintained the theatrical feel using simple sets and concentrating mainly on the actors.

Joe Mantegna is an excellent tough-guy character actor and conjures another terrific mobster. He is a tough but practical murderer who takes the task as strictly business and longs to get out of the game. Sam Rockwell is also good as his dim-witted cohort, who begins to like his work a bit too much. Charles Durning gives a droll performance as an over-the-hill hit man who wants to write a book about his targets. There are also cameos by William Macy, Ted Danson and Peter Riegert.

This is a better than average B movie with some acting performances that are worth seeing. I rated it a 6/10. It is funny in a perverse way, and Mantegna's performance is a treat.