Gasoline Alley

When you see a Bruce Willis starring role and an Edward Drake direction, expect direct to video junk where script is clearly secondary and Willis is getting paid to rent out his name. Drake's films are basically name actors with faded careers that feature 'stars' for a few minutes to gather interest, which includes Luke Wilson who must be really desperate these days. Neither is in the film for more than a couple of minutes nor do they seem to be interested much in this loser.

This is a vehicle for Sawa to play the role of the gruff ex-con who is being framed for a murder he didn't commit. Willis & Wilson are two cops who happen to find a business card and lighter that has Sawa's tattoo shop - Gasoline Alley - monogrammed on it. Without much more than being seein with one of the murder victims, the cop duo with Wilson doing most of the half hearted talking, insist Sawa is the prime suspect and rouse him a little. Sawa then talks and walks his way through a color by numbers script that is laughably done until its conclusion. The problem is that Sawa's character "Jimmy Jane" is put in a situation which really isn't at all that desperate and is clearly the excuse to act like his own tough, private eye.

How stupid and by the numbers is this? A car pulls next to Sawa's at the beginning and somehow, just 6-8 feet away, the shooter misses Sawa smoking in his car. Begin car chase. Sawa's 'investigation' gets to a weird private party where he somehow talks his way in simply by saying he's inviting and that he is a cop, but left his badge "in the car." And then come the friendly confessions by people who just tell him stuff because he's badass cool. In fact, he even asks them "why are you telling me this?" and no good answers come forth.

Oddly enough Sawa actually plays his role pretty well. Wilson is mostly checked out and plays himself, speaks the lines as if he's never read the whole script because knowing the character and story isn't important - only his name is as one of the stars. Willis is totally checked out and is reduced to very short sentences and single words when he speaks, sounding like he's reading off cue cards that he's seen for the first time. The other supporting actors have mostly individual scene parts and range from good but unnecessary to the truly weak.

The conslusion is predictable. Some ofthe vale deserve a higher rating but the film itself i so pitiful that I have a difficult time recommending this latest Drake snoozefest.