Never Thought I'd Say This: I Like A Ryan Phillipe Movie
I been meaning to watch "The Way Of The Gun" since it came out in 2000. One thing stopping me was I was unemployed at the time and couldn't. The other was Ryan Phillipe. I'm not a major fan of his. He does movies that don't usually interest me. But what sucked was Benico Del Torro is in it and he's one of the many actor's I'll see any movie for. So I was torn, but didn't think about it until five years later.
Plus I had the misfortune to see "Wild Things" before hand, so expect some cross references.
Mr. Reese Witherspoon and Dr. Gonzo are two characters who call themselves Parker and Longbaugh. They just randomly drive around and do bad things. I'm guessing maybe someday a comic book or something will be made showing other adventures before this movie. But anyway.
They need money so they decide to, and I quote from the movie, "jerk off" for some. At a clinic before you get any wrong ideas. While waiting, they overhear a conversation about some chick who got pregnant for some rich couple. They decide, "Hey! Let's kidnap the pregnant chick and get some money."
So they do.
The pregnant chick is Robin, played by Juliette Lewis. And she gets kidnapped at her doctor's office, Dr. Painter. The rich guy sends two bodyguards to protect Robin. Now, you think the bodyguard's would be two burly guys, like those "American Chopper" guys or whatever. But no. We get "Kevin Hill" and the sarcastic teacher from "Boston Public".
Well, needless to say, the kidnapping happens, but there's a bizarre but really cool car chase that must be seen to believe, and Parker and Longbaugh, or Long cause I hate spelling long names, get away with Robin.
Later that night, Robin is having some woman problems, so they call Dr. Painter, who rushes right over. The rich couple, the Chidducks, are frantic, so Mr. Chidduck calls this mob guy named Joe, played by James Caan, and he uses big words. So much in fact I cringed when he came on the screen, but I got over it. Anyway, Joe, through mysterious ways, finds Long and he treats him to coffee in Mexico, while Parker watches Robin in the hotel. Oh, and Joe called some suicidal guy named Angus, I think.
So Kevin Hill and the sarcastic teacher decide to double cross Mr. Chidduck and take the money, Mrs. Chidduck is boinking Kevin Hill, and it turns out not only is Mr. Painter Mr. Chidduck's son, but he got Robin pregnant to begin with. Phew. See, "Wild Things". I was just waiting to see Kevin Bacon naked. Not that I want to, but...ok moving on.
Kevin Hill, the sarcastic teacher, Dr. Painter and Joe go to Mexico to "Deliever the money", while Angus keeps his suicidial eye on the hotel room. While it appears that Parker was gonna double cross Long, Robin steals a shotgun and tells Long and Parker to get out! So...they do. And that's when Kevin Hill, the sarcastic teacher, and Dr. Painter arrive, along with some Mexican cops. A big shootout occurs, Kevin Hill snags Robin and he and Painter take off, the sarcastic teacher is shot but not dead, the cops die, Angus takes off with a cop car, and Long and Parker decide to torture the sarcastic teacher to find out where they're all going. Then, I guess, he died. They don't really show.
We find out that Kevin Hill took Robin to a Mexican whorehouse, which isn't a good place to look for medical attention. The doctor says he needs to perform a C-Section cause she's bleeding from down there and she shouldn't be having a period. I guess. Do women still have periods when they're pregnant? I would think not. Hm.
Anyway, it's not too long before Long and Parker show up and we get a 25 minute gun fight scene between mobsters, mexicans, the doctor, and Kevin Hill. Joe shows up, uses some bigs words to let us know Robin is his daughter, and gets involved with the shootout.
Normally, I do say how movies end, cause I'm sure people want to know if it's worth seeing the movie or not. I'll tell you now that it is worth it and you should check it out, even if it's only once. If you do not want to see how it ends, do not read the very next sentence, or anything after this paragraph to be on the safe side. I've given you guys enough of a warning, here goes.
Kevin Hill gets shot by the doctor, majority of the mob guys get killed, Parker gets all kinds of shot up, as does Long, Painter actually comes through with delievering the baby, and Joe makes out with the money. The movie ends with Mrs. Chidduck saying she's pregnant with Kevin Hill's baby. And if you don't know who Kevin Hill is, he's the same dude who was the black dude in "Go". I hope that helped.
If Quentin Tarentino and the dude who did "Requiem For A Dream" got together, they would make this movie. It's just that awesome, with a hint of desperation in it. I waited five years to see this movie and I think it was worth the wait.
4 stars.
"The Way of The Gun" on IMDb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202677/