tMC Review: Stand Up Guys

Directed by: Fisher Stevens

Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Lucy Punch, Julianna Margulies

Stand Up Guys.  Was I looking forward to something great with this one!?!  Disappointed as I walked out, it was hard for me to pinpoint exactly where it went wrong.  Outside of the fact that it felt completely contrived, overly conspicuous with every thing it tried to be, poorly directed, poorly written… I still just cannot decide.  It was so well acted by men I think are simply astounding in their field, they make it almost a gift to be watching this wreck.  It’s a big miss for director Fisher Steven’s who should have been taking every opportunity to make this the picture of his life.   

The movie is the tale of Val (Pacino) getting out of prison after 28 years and spending time at long last with his good friends Doc (Walken) and eventually Hirch (Arkin) for what is to be his last night on earth.  Little does he know, Doc is to kill him for the reason he was in prison in the first place, he killed the son of the big boss and now he has to pay because that prison sentence wasn't enough.    

Jokes about aging men discovering Viagra can only carry you so far.  Lines like“Mount Everest just moved into my pants” and “I’ve got a python in my pants, harder than the Rock of Gibraltar”, coming out of Pacino’s mouth might be funny on paper but in reality, they sound and look ridiculous… maybe because you expect more from Pacino, not necessarily Stevens. 

There seems to be a theme to the movie, a message if you will, about how we take things for granted and how friends, family and those we love are more dear to us than we realize and that we should hold them close and never let them get away.  

If you can get a lesson out of the movie, then you have a reason to see it!  (Along with the main reason which is to see Pacino, Walken and Arkin alongside each other doing what they do best... creating a world for you to escape to for a little while).  

Though this world isn't one you'd want to be in for a long period of time, nor pay full theatre price for (if you were going to... fuhgeddaboudit!) they do have that special something that makes Stevens' job look like everything went according to plan.