Bobby Z (2007)

A DEA agent provides former Marine Tim Kearney with a way out of his prison sentence: impersonate Bobby Z, a recently deceased drug dealer, in a hostage switch with a crime lord.

Director:

John Herzfeld

Writers:

Bob Krakower (screenplay), Larry Schapiro (screenplay) (as Allen Lawrence)

Stars:

Paul Walker, Laurence Fishburne, Olivia Wilde

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Walker	...	Tim Kearney
Laurence Fishburne	...	Tad Grusza
Olivia Wilde	...	Elizabeth
Jason Flemyng	...	Brian
Keith Carradine	...	Johnson
Joaquim de Almeida	...	Don Huertero
J.R. Villarreal	...	Kit
Jason Lewis	...	Bobby Z
Jacob Vargas	...	Jorge Escobar
Michael Bowen	...	Duke
M.C. Gainey	...	Boom Boom
Josh Stewart	...	Monk
Margo Martindale	...	Macy
Raymond J. Barry	...	Stanley (as Raymond Barry)
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Mexican Detective

Storyline

A DEA agent provides former Marine Tim Kearney with a way out of his prison sentence: impersonate Bobby Z, a recently deceased drug dealer, in a hostage switch with a crime lord. When the negotiations go awry, Kearney flees, with Z's son in tow.

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Plot Keywords:

drinking from a bottle | woman wears black lingerie | car | automobile | u.s. car | 

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Taglines:

You can't out-run yourself.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Josh Stewart was in Dark Knight Rises and Lawrence Fishbourne was in Batman vs Superman

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Goofs

You can see a member of the crew walk by inside Monk's house when Elizabeth and Monk are sitting outside of his home talking about their future plans together.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jorge Escobar: [throwing down photo] This guy is perfect. His name is Tim Kearney, three-time loser from Palm Dale.
Tad Gruzsa: Definitely a resemblance. Family?
Jorge Escobar: Mom's dead, dad split.
Tad Gruzsa: Uncles, aunts, brothers, sister?
Jorge Escobar: Tim's an only child. On his own since he was 15.

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Alternate Versions

The European versions of this film open and close with a hippie played by Bruce Dern talking about the death and life of Bobby Z. The US version does not have these scenes which open and bookend the movie.

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Soundtracks

Thing About Me
Written by David Dearmon
Performed by Calvin Scott

User Reviews

Movie was funny, entertaining and I enjoyed it.

While it's no worse than much of the action movie junk that makes it to theatres, Bobby Z, originally entitled The Death and Life of Bobby Z, is a action thriller with Tim Kearney (Walker) as our hero. Kearney is a convict who's an ex-Marine and clearly not so much a bad person as one who has frequently found himself in trouble due to circumstance rather than intent. This gives director John Herzfeld, whose own career hacs been on less than an up-tick since the appropriately named 15 Minutes came and went in about that long, a premise for having a good guy hero who still fits the label of a tough convict.

The slightly convoluted storyline sees Kearney – whose life is in peril since he killed a biker gang boss in prison (self defence, of course) – offered an opportunity to walk free, as long as he's willing to impersonate a drug kingpin who happens to look just like Kearney, and who has just died. Fishburne plays the Drug Enforcement Agency cop who puts Kearney up to this task.

Before you can say 'gunfights are fun', Kearney is being shot at by the cops, manhandled by Mexican drug thugs, pursued by the bikers, and generally in demand by everyone, regardless of whether they think he's Kearney or Bobby Z. Our hero, of course, dodges the bullets, battles the bad guys, befriends Bobby Z's son (who has never met his dad) and romances a beautiful woman (Olivia Wilde) whose relationship with the bad guys is a bit hazy, but clearly quite intimate.

Filled with head scratching twists and cornball dialogue, this is not exactly a brilliant film. Yet it's got a slick look and at least a few passably enjoyable action scenes. And Walker, while never likely to be mistaken for a Shakespearian thespian, has the good looks and charisma to lead the way here. At least his character isn't loaded down with as many stupidly threatening lines as Fishburne's. Wilde also does a passable job as Kearney's conflicted love interest; she's mainly called upon to look good (which she accomplishes rather easily), but also doesn't muff her lines when she does have something to say.

Movie was funny, entertaining and I enjoyed it.

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 2007 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Bobby Z

Filming Locations:

Dana Point, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$413,454

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Eclectic Pictures, Equity Pictures Medienfonds GmbH & Co. KG IV

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1