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Best Men

1999, Movie, R, 90 mins

Best Men: Review

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This self-consciously quirky misfire alternates between coming-of-age comedy and hostage drama; unfortunately, viewers get the worst of two contrived worlds. Hoping for a fresh start, Jesse Reilly (Luke Wilson) schedules his wedding on the same day as his release from prison. His best pals, Teddy Pollock (Andy Dick), Buzz Thomas (Dean Cain), Billy Phillips (Sean Patrick Flannery) and Sol Jacobs (Mitchell Whitfield) pick him up at the gate, but Jesse grows impatient when Billy stops at the local bank en route to church. Unbeknownst to any of his friends, Billy is the notorious "Hamlet Robber," who quotes Shakespeare as he conducts stick-ups. Billy, whose Robin Hood ways have made the Hamlet Robber very popualr with the public, makes two dubious decisions when he decides to pull off this particular robbery. He decides to knock over a bank owned by his own father, Sheriff Bud Phillips (Fred Ward), and to involve his unwitting friends. While they recover from their shock, a standoff inside the bank has escalated into a hostage crisis. Shots are exchanged and Teddy is wounded. Seeing an opportunity to nab the notorious Hamlet Robber, the FBI claims jurisdiction over Sheriff Phillips, who has the volatile situation contained. Bride-to-be Hope (Drew Barrymore) bursts through the barricade, and Jesse demands that a preacher marry them; unfortunately, the reverend turns out to be a federal officer. After a shoot out with the preacher, who gets winged, the possibility of a peaceful resolution fades further away. Although the Feds grant Billy's request for an escape bus, the authorities bide their time. Can Billy's confederates anticipate the FBI's plans and vamoose to freedom without further casualties? This annoyingly sincere, let's-try-anything serio-comedy is a dog-eared trek through DOG DAY AFTERNOON territory. It tries to invest its paper-thin characters with the weight of tragedy, then consistently dilutes the story's serious aspects with broadly comic interludes. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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