Susan Granger’s review of “Knockaround Guys” (New Line Cinema)
This two year-old gangster comedy/drama about wannabe wiseguys has been taken off the shelf, dusted and delivered to local theaters to reap “XXX” Vin Diesel’s astounding popularity. The story revolves around the twentysomething slacker sons of four infamous wiseguys. There’s Matty (Barry Pepper), son of Benny “Chains” Demaret (Dennis Hopper), who, as an adolescent, disappointed his sardonic Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) by not bumping off a snitch who ratted on his father. Deprived of his rightful place in the mob and unable to make it as a legitimate sports agent, Matty’s at loose ends, as is half-Jewish muscleman Taylor (Vin Diesel), womanizer Chris (Andrew Davoli), and his coked-up cousin Johnny (Seth Green). Desperate, he begs his father for one last chance to prove himself in the family business. Predictably, his errand to pick up a half-million payment in Spokane goes awry as the fish-out-of-water black-suited Brooklyn boys find themselves minus the bag of cash in Wibaux, Montana, where they have a shoot ’em up Western showdown with a corrupt sheriff (Tom Noonan) along with some skateboarding local louts, not to mention ubiquitous Uncle Teddy and his posse of pros. (Think of bloodshed and betrayal in “Fargo” yearning to be “Reservoir Dogs.”) What co-writers/directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien (“Rounders”) offer that’s unusual is a humorous, perhaps poignant, insight into the sons-of-goombas’ mentality and vulnerability but it’s set in a wretchedly slow-moving vehicle with little credibility. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Knockaround Guys” is a wry, whacking 5. Yet, if you’re a guy between 18 and 44 who’s into goodfellas knock-offs, you can roll with the punches.
