29 Palms (2002)

This is the story of a bag of money and the people who come into contact with it.

Director:

Leonardo Ricagni

Writer:

Tino Lucente

Stars:

Jeremy Davies, Chris O'Donnell, Rachael Leigh Cook

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jeremy Davies	...	The Drifter
Michael Lerner	...	The Judge
Litefoot	...	The Warrior #1 (as G. Paul Davis a.k.a Litefoot)
Russell Means	...	The Chief
Chris O'Donnell	...	The Hitman
Jon Polito	...	The Security Guard
Kevin Sifuentes	...	The Head of Security
Michael Rapaport	...	The Cop
Anita Maltin	...	The Old Lady
Bill Pullman	...	The Ticket Clerk
Keith David	...	The Sheriff
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	The Waitress
P.J. Byrne	...	The Doctor
Carlos Mencia	...	The Comedian

Storyline

Can you trust anyone? A corrupt judge is about to rule against the expansion of an Indian casino in the Mohave and needs cover: he tells the tribe's chief that the FBI has an undercover agent on the judge's staff, so the expansion must be on hold. The chief hires a hit man to kill the law clerk. The clerk makes a run for it and manages through a series of botched thefts to end up with the bag of money meant for the hit man. A corrupt cop, a degenerate security guard, a hapless bus station clerk, a scheming waitress, and the hit man himself all want the bag - and the chief and the judge want the clerk dead. Is there any way he gets out of the desert alive?

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Plot Keywords:

bag of money | corrupt judge | scantily clad female | shower | nipples visible through clothing | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence, some sexual content and brief drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

Twenty-nine Palms

Filming Locations:

Salton City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

B. Lord Productions, Ben's Sister Productions, Davis Entertainment Filmworks

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the drifter and the waitress are in the motel room and it is raining outside, they are eating in front of the window and you can clearly see the stream coming from a hose hitting the window.

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Crazy Credits

There is a short additional sequence with Michael Rapaport after the credits have ended.

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Soundtracks

It's Only Make Belive
Written by Jack Nance and Conway Twitty
Performed by Conway Twitty
Courtesy of Tree Productions, Nashville, TN

User Reviews

Decent moments, but overall uninteresting!

A richly photographed ensemble piece about several characters attempts of obtain a bag of money. Nothing deep, just a quirky and sometimes funny film that uses coincidences similar to the 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrell's' motif. It never quite works as a hilarious caper film, and neither does the viewer enable any feeling for the main protagonist in the Drifter played by Jeremy Davies.

'29 Palms' does have it's moments though particular during the scenes with Michael Rappaport as the nasty cop, who has some of the funniest lines. Joe Polito does a decent job, but his character is overly annoying and fairly stupid. Bill Pullman is a welcome edition, but again, short-lived and not really given an essential character to play. Chris O'Donnell makes an interesting, if not decent, hit-man character. None of the characters are really developed except Jeremy Davies one, and Rachel Leigh Cook's character. '29 Palms' would have got a far better score if it was more entertaining and less reliant on coincidences as plot-devices which has been done before. I did like some of the flashback moments and interactions but the main reasoning to also partially dislike this film is because it should have had a better ending. The ending was just plain weak, and the only redeeming factor from it was the very last line, but the entire sequence itself was stupid and nonsensical. I could hardly recommend this film, as it became tiresome and irritating, though it certainly had it's moments to give it an average score. **1/2 out of *****!