John Herzfeld's film is one of Intersecting narratives set in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. It chronicles a violent and profane tale of how the lives and deaths of a dozen various people intersect over the course of two days. The director's method is to introduce his characters in seemingly unrelated scenes and then eventually connect them together. The technique has been done before: "American Graffiti" (1973) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994) come to mind.
Two hit men, cold-blooded psychopath Lee Woods (James Spader) and faded Dosmo (Danny Aiello), are hired to kill for insurance money the womanizing ex-husband (Ray Foxx = Peter Horton) of scheming Olympic skier Becky Foxx (Teri Hatcher). Despite his lethal line of work," Dosmo shows compassion; he is even afraid of dogs. On the other hand, Lee is a sadist who gives his victims one minute to get their affairs in order. Lee's girl is Helga (Charlize Theron). The subsequent crime scene is somewhat later stumbled upon by two vice cops: quixotic Wes Taylor (Eric Stoltz) and exasperated Alvin Strayer (Jeff Daniels). When the two cops were staking out an Asian massage parlor, Wes refused to arrest lovely Vietnamese girl Midori (Kathleen Luong). Alvin is not happy because he does not want any vice dens in the valley. Unlike Wes, he doesn't want to get involved in a homicide investigation. In the second half of the movie he is ordered to turn in his badge and gun. Later, real homicide detective Creighton (Keith Carradine) is assigned to the case.
Obnoxious and patronizing British art dealer Allan Hopper (Greg Cruttwell), who sustains a kidney stone attack in the middle of a busy LA street, is assisted by his dutiful secretary Susan Parish (Glenne Headly). He continually denigrates her with unflattering comments.
Down-and-out movie director Teddy Peppers (Paul Mazursky), four months behind in his rent, contemplates suicide but doesn't want to see his beloved dog homeless. At first he decides to shoot him after one last walk in the park. There he meets Ralph Crupi (Austin Pendleton), who, while smiling, proceeds to insensitively criticize Peppers' screen failures. Eventually Peppers resolves to find someone to care for his dog. When he spots compassionate nurse (Audrey Hopper = Marsha Mason) in a cemetery he introduces himself to her. In time we will learn that Audrey is Allan Hopper's half- sister. Kindheartedly, Audrey senses Teddy's distress and brings him to her brother's house.
Meanwhile, after the hit, Lee shoots Dosmo so that he can have the insurance payment all to himself. Dosmo, though, is smarter than he seems and correctly suspected Lee: he wore a bullet proof vest. Thus he survives both a bullet and a blown-up car. Disheveled, Dosmo stumbles upon Hopper's residence and takes him and Susan hostage. Hungry, he cooks a pasta and sauce dinner for all of them. Dosmo plans on taking Hopper's car. Before that, he warns Hopper to stop insulting Susan and slaps him. Susan says to Dosmo, "Please don't hurt him. He doesn't mean anything by it. It's just his nature to be cruel."
At this point no more bits of information are being provided as they will necessitate spoilers. Aiello is very good but the other actors also give their all in this one, and Hatcher achieves the best role of her career. The dialogue is snappy. There are a number of comedic overtones, mostly from Aiello's character, like the pit bull's reaction to Dosmo's toupee falling from his head. In short, the movie is entertaining with a simple but satisfying ending.
Two hit men, cold-blooded psychopath Lee Woods (James Spader) and faded Dosmo (Danny Aiello), are hired to kill for insurance money the womanizing ex-husband (Ray Foxx = Peter Horton) of scheming Olympic skier Becky Foxx (Teri Hatcher). Despite his lethal line of work," Dosmo shows compassion; he is even afraid of dogs. On the other hand, Lee is a sadist who gives his victims one minute to get their affairs in order. Lee's girl is Helga (Charlize Theron). The subsequent crime scene is somewhat later stumbled upon by two vice cops: quixotic Wes Taylor (Eric Stoltz) and exasperated Alvin Strayer (Jeff Daniels). When the two cops were staking out an Asian massage parlor, Wes refused to arrest lovely Vietnamese girl Midori (Kathleen Luong). Alvin is not happy because he does not want any vice dens in the valley. Unlike Wes, he doesn't want to get involved in a homicide investigation. In the second half of the movie he is ordered to turn in his badge and gun. Later, real homicide detective Creighton (Keith Carradine) is assigned to the case.
Obnoxious and patronizing British art dealer Allan Hopper (Greg Cruttwell), who sustains a kidney stone attack in the middle of a busy LA street, is assisted by his dutiful secretary Susan Parish (Glenne Headly). He continually denigrates her with unflattering comments.
Down-and-out movie director Teddy Peppers (Paul Mazursky), four months behind in his rent, contemplates suicide but doesn't want to see his beloved dog homeless. At first he decides to shoot him after one last walk in the park. There he meets Ralph Crupi (Austin Pendleton), who, while smiling, proceeds to insensitively criticize Peppers' screen failures. Eventually Peppers resolves to find someone to care for his dog. When he spots compassionate nurse (Audrey Hopper = Marsha Mason) in a cemetery he introduces himself to her. In time we will learn that Audrey is Allan Hopper's half- sister. Kindheartedly, Audrey senses Teddy's distress and brings him to her brother's house.
Meanwhile, after the hit, Lee shoots Dosmo so that he can have the insurance payment all to himself. Dosmo, though, is smarter than he seems and correctly suspected Lee: he wore a bullet proof vest. Thus he survives both a bullet and a blown-up car. Disheveled, Dosmo stumbles upon Hopper's residence and takes him and Susan hostage. Hungry, he cooks a pasta and sauce dinner for all of them. Dosmo plans on taking Hopper's car. Before that, he warns Hopper to stop insulting Susan and slaps him. Susan says to Dosmo, "Please don't hurt him. He doesn't mean anything by it. It's just his nature to be cruel."
At this point no more bits of information are being provided as they will necessitate spoilers. Aiello is very good but the other actors also give their all in this one, and Hatcher achieves the best role of her career. The dialogue is snappy. There are a number of comedic overtones, mostly from Aiello's character, like the pit bull's reaction to Dosmo's toupee falling from his head. In short, the movie is entertaining with a simple but satisfying ending.