"It's our wedding present..."

Alright, The Merethon has officially hit its first snag.

Does anyone happen to have a copy of Telling Lies in America? Yeah, I'd never heard of it either. It stars Kevin Bacon, if that narrows it down any ; ) ...It's not at the library, not on Netflix and even Liberty Hall is without it. I mean, I guess I could check Blockbuster, but that seems even more unlikely. Maybe I'll give 'em a call, just in case. In the meantime....

Day 28
Best Men
1997

I somehow convinced Matt to watch the next flick on the list, Best Men.

When we started the movie, I was under the impression it was going to be a comedy. Unfortunately, aside from a few moments of mostly unintentional humor, this was not a very funny movie.

Andy Dick was in this one, too, but he was definitely not as endearing as last time and I'm already regaining my disdain for him. But, on the brighter side, this movie was a considerable improvement over the last one!

There was a plot! Even fairly interesting themes and subplots about homosexuality, honor, friendship, etc. Unfortunately this movie was also riddled with cliche. The whole estranged father (sheriff) pitted against wayward son (bank robber) by circumstance of chosen professions. Then, of course, there's that inexplicably-angry-at-the-world-FBI-honcho-man who rolls in to town to take over the robbery/hostage situation and generally be an ass to everyone, especially those who run the small-town sheriff's department. It's all there.

Also, though I've yet to see Dog Day Afternoon, Matt explained to me that this movie seems to draw heeeavily upon that film. One character even makes reference to it somewhere in that often unnatural-sounding dialogue spoken by the would-be-groomsmen-bank robbers and their hostages. (Why, yes, there's even Shakespeare!) At any rate, I think I need to see Dog Day Afternoon.

Luke Wilson's part as Jesse, the groom, was an interesting one. Although he seemed like the focal point of the film, he really hardly does or says anything throughout. The one major piece of dialogue he did have just made me really uncomfortable, honestly. It was intense. Maybe it just seemed awkward because I was still holding out hope for a comedy at that point...Anyway, the entire bank robbery is more or less staged in Jesse's honor, but having been paroled only hours beforehand, he winds up with the most to lose when it inevitably goes awry. Not to mention the fact that he misses his own wedding. (Drew Barrymore was so very, very upset!)

We also said at least 5 times during this movie, "Where have I seen that guy before?!" in reference to Sean Patrick Flannery. Apprently in Powder or Boondock Saints. Wild....

This movie did not end in a manner even remotely close to what I would have expected. It was almost really disappointing. A nice twist at the end made it, well...less disappointing. It was satisfying if still completely outlandish....Yeah, we'll leave it at that.

One thing's for sure, those guys really know how to ruin a wedding...

MERE'S OFFICIAL RATING: 2 out of 5 Stars
Sandwich-appropriateness remains questionable.

Up next...
Scream 2
(Yeah, I don't remember him being in that movie either!)