Stars: Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Christopher Walken
Director: Fisher Stevens.
Rated: R
Showing: Southside Theatre. Call 297-2821 for show times.
Runtime: 94 minutes
Comedy, crime
There’s
a comfortable class-reunion vibe to the gangland comedy Stand Up Guys.
That’s because pretty much everyone in the company reprises roles
they’ve played to perfection before.
You’ve got Christopher Walken
spot-on as Doc, a complicated, laconic hit man. Here’s Al Pacino
gleefully desecrating his Scarface roles as Val, a batty, cartoonish and
more over-the-top-than-usual bank robber. Alan Arkin rounds out the
crew as Hirsch, another grumblesome lion in winter, this time a retired
getaway driver growling for one final fling.
The casting gives us
three men on base even before Julianna Margulies appears as a
kindhearted hospital nurse, Breaking Bad’s Mark Margolis plays a
murderous villain and Lucy Punch, comedy’s go-to harlot, pops up as a
ditzy hooker.
What could go wrong? Not much, if you’re in the
agreeable mood this enjoyable film aims to kindle. You can’t argue that
performers the stature of Pacino, Walken and Arkin don’t deserve better
material, yet it’s so nice to have them onscreen together I’m in no mood
to quibble.