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Life in the Fast Lane

Original title: There's No Fish Food in Heaven
  • 1998
  • R
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
4.3/10
375
YOUR RATING
Fairuza Balk, Jeffrey Jones, Téa Leoni, Debi Mazar, Caroline Aaron, Patrick Dempsey, Udo Kier, James Le Gros, K. Todd Freeman, and Noah Taylor in Life in the Fast Lane (1998)
Home Video Trailer from Avalanche
Play trailer1:04
1 Video
70 Photos
Comedy

Mona wishes for her life to change - and it does; in a big way - only it gets worse. Mona's boyfriend, somewhat crazy, mails himself to her. When she opens the box with a pair of scissors, s... Read allMona wishes for her life to change - and it does; in a big way - only it gets worse. Mona's boyfriend, somewhat crazy, mails himself to her. When she opens the box with a pair of scissors, she accidentally kills him.Mona wishes for her life to change - and it does; in a big way - only it gets worse. Mona's boyfriend, somewhat crazy, mails himself to her. When she opens the box with a pair of scissors, she accidentally kills him.

  • Director
    • Eleanor Gaver
  • Writer
    • Eleanor Gaver
  • Stars
    • Fairuza Balk
    • Noah Taylor
    • Téa Leoni
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.3/10
    375
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Eleanor Gaver
    • Writer
      • Eleanor Gaver
    • Stars
      • Fairuza Balk
      • Noah Taylor
      • Téa Leoni
    • 11User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Life in the Fast Lane
    Trailer 1:04
    Life in the Fast Lane

    Photos70

    View Poster
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    + 66
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    Top cast18

    Edit
    Fairuza Balk
    Fairuza Balk
    • Mona
    Noah Taylor
    Noah Taylor
    • Jeff
    Téa Leoni
    Téa Leoni
    • Landeene
    Patrick Dempsey
    Patrick Dempsey
    • The Stranger
    Debi Mazar
    Debi Mazar
    • Rosie
    Jeffrey Jones
    Jeffrey Jones
    • Minister Pete
    James Le Gros
    James Le Gros
    • D.J.
    • (as James LeGros)
    Udo Kier
    Udo Kier
    • Rocky
    Caroline Aaron
    Caroline Aaron
    • Venessa
    K. Todd Freeman
    K. Todd Freeman
    • Stan…
    Richard Gayler
    • Desk Sergeant
    Tracy Vilar
    Tracy Vilar
    • Shirley
    Madena Bennett
    • Bouncer
    Bill Cusack
    Bill Cusack
    • Cop #1
    • (as Billy Cusack)
    Scott Burkholder
    Scott Burkholder
    • Cop #2
    Christopher Grove
    Christopher Grove
    • Cop at Pet Store
    • (as Chris Grove)
    Josephine Messer
    • Little Girl
    Joseph Benjamin Stewart
    • Sex Club Extra
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Eleanor Gaver
    • Writer
      • Eleanor Gaver
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    4.3375
    1
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    10

    Featured reviews

    2Figgiedan

    Apparently Hell was on my television.

    This flick, which is a.k.a. "Life In the Fast Lane" is easily one of the least entertaining movies I've seen in a long time. I think it was made in mind of the sick, twisted and jaded L.A. women who represent about .00000001 of the population in the States. The characters are all one-dimensional, even the lead. After she stabs her boyfriend in the head with some scissors, a cheap laugh is attempted (and unsucceeds) by sticking a cork in the boyfriend's skull to stop the bleeding. Oh, clever! Patrick Dempsey (whose movies are almost always a class act --sarcasm) plays this "devil" who changes her life - but from what we've seen, her life was this series of vignettes to begin with. No emotion, no laughs, no story. The only reason I give this a 2 is that Jeffrey Jones is ok as the priest and there is a bit of style (albiet zero substance) in the camerawork. Otherwise, one of the 5 worst films I've seen. Grade 2 out of 10 AN F! I think that even the most drugged out junkie who would laugh at a toilet seat falling would dislike this film. I can't stress enough how much you should stay away.
    5quickipanda

    It's not THAT bad...

    This is by no means a great film, but I don't think that it's nearly as bad as the other reviews posted about it. It's a simple little movie with a couple of funny scenes. Fairuza Balk does a good job with the material she was given. As always I enjoyed Jeffrey Jones and I really liked Noah Taylor who I don't believe I've seen before. I did feel that Tea Leoni was wasted though, she can be very funny and she should have had better scenes.

    I watched it last night and enjoyed it. It's as simple as that.



    --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
    Darkest_Rose

    Fairuza Is The Only Good Thing

    Life in the fast lane or there's no fish food in heaven or whatever the hell you call it is about a frustrated artist Mona( Fairuza Balk). She has this boyfriend Jeff( Noah Taylor) who she has known forever and she doesn't really appreciate him. Suddenly Mona thinks she's going crazy because whenever she draws something, her painting really comes true. Suddenly she starts seeing this stranger who she cannot resist and has sex with him whenever she gets the chance too. Jeff wants to get Mona's attention again, so he puts himself in a box in front of Mona's doorstep. When Mona tries to open the box, she accidently stabs Jeff in the head and kills him. Now the spirit of Jeff follows Mona around everywhere and won't leave her alone unless she can find his body again. This wasn't really funny although it is considered a comedy, the only reason i even rented this movie was because of Fairuza Balk who I am in love with. I would give Life In The Fast Lane 5/10
    2wmadavis

    I'm Afraid it IS that Bad

    The IMDB plot summary erroneously makes it sound like it is Noah Taylor's movie, when Fairuza Balk is the central character. It is unbelievable how such a cast of established actors could have been in such an amateurish, pointless, non-movie. Balk breaks up with Boyfriend Taylor, sleeps with the Devil (I guess - played by Dempsey), and accidentally kills Taylor -- who follows her about for the rest of the movie as a ghost. May be the worst movie I have ever seen.
    nd_4@hot

    Poorly done

    Hmmm... why isn't there info for this movie here? It stars Fairuza Balk and Jeffery Jones. It's about Mona who's ex-boyfriend Jeff sends himself to her in a box and she accidently kills him. For the rest of the movie he follows her around. It's got a horrible soundtrack and the acting's no good and the story was weak also. So actually, this movie was crap. I still think Fairuza Balk's beautiful though. I only wanted to see it cuz she stars in it and because it was based on a story/song by Lou Reed called "The Gift" off the album White Light/White Heat. Great song. Lou Reed's great.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Mona's green triangle tattoo is a Nazi concentration camp symbol. Specifically, pink triangles were for homosexuals, red for political prisoners, blue for emigrants, black for the catch-all "asocial" prisoners, and green was for criminals. This is foreshadowing, since Mona does become a criminal.
    • Goofs
      Blue Lips the goldfish clearly doesn't have his blue lips in scenes that aren't a closeup, such as when the boyfriend does an impromptu puppet show in the beginning.
    • Quotes

      Mona: You know you make little noises when you eat?

      Jeff: I do?

      Mona: Yeah.

      Jeff: Okay. Tell me when I do it again.

      [Jeff makes the noise]

      Mona: You just did it!

      Jeff: Oh. Yeah, that's my little happy noise.

      Mona: ...Your little happy noise?

      Jeff: Yeah. It's my way of thanking the food.

      Mona: Oh. So, maybe we should start seeing other people.

    • Connections
      References The Naked Truth (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Swingin' Hula Girl
      Written by Mark Fontana and Tracy Welzig

      Performed by The Blue Hawaiians

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    FAQ16

    • How long is Life in the Fast Lane?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 18, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Szellem a dobozból
    • Filming locations
      • Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA(Industrial area scenes)
    • Production companies
      • Storm Entertainment
      • Terence Michael Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital

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    Fairuza Balk, Jeffrey Jones, Téa Leoni, Debi Mazar, Caroline Aaron, Patrick Dempsey, Udo Kier, James Le Gros, K. Todd Freeman, and Noah Taylor in Life in the Fast Lane (1998)
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    By what name was Life in the Fast Lane (1998) officially released in Canada in English?
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