# Whole Nine Yards, The (2000)

### reviewed by
Mac VerStandig

    The Whole Nine Yards
    3 and 1/2 Stars (Out of 4)
    Reviewed by Mac VerStandig
    critic@moviereviews.org
    http://www.moviereviews.org
    February 16, 2000
    USA Release Date - February 18, 2000

---A copy of this review can be found at http://www.moviereviews.org/whole_nine_yards,_the.htm ---

Hollywood conservatives beware! The two best films of the new millennium aren't great dramatic narratives, heart-tugging romances or even intellectual studies. First The Big Tease, a lowbrow mockumentary cracking jokes at Scottish and homosexuals. Now The Whole Nine Yards, an uproarious date flick full of over-exaggerations.

"Oz" Oseransky (Matthew Perry) is a dentist, which, according to several sources throughout the film, makes him a likely suicide candidate. This isn't helped by the fact that his ex-partner, who also was his father-in-law, embezzled massive amounts of money before dying. Now Oz lives in misery with his wife Sophie (Rosanna Arquette), his mother-in-law (Carmen Ferlan) and a mammoth debt.

Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudesky (Bruce Willis) is a 17-times-veteran contract killer fresh out of the slammer thanks to a loose tongued plea-bargain. But Jimmy refused witness protection so he has turned to a new life in Canada for safety and good gardening soil (tomatoes grow quickly)- next door to Oz.

Janni Gogolak (Kevin Pollak) is the son of the crime-boss that Tudesky ratted out. He lives in Chicago with several hit-men, Tudesky's estranged wife (Natasha Henstridge) and a contract on Tudesky's head.

Everyone from oz's secretary to Gogolak seems to want or need someone dead for either revenge, money or necessity. Who are the double agents? Who will live? Who will die? And which one turns out to be the cop?

The Whole Nine Yards proves to be a hysterical blend of Airplane and Goodfellas. Of all the dark comedies over the past several years, none have managed to make murder as funny as it is here. Responsible for this phenomenon is undoubtedly the cast. Perry's innocent facial expressions, Willis' ability to deliver absurd lines with the utmost seriousness and Pollak's beautifully overacted gangster are certainly contributing factors. But the real treats are Michael Clarke Duncan (recently in The Green Mile) and Amanda Peet (recently in Isn't She Great) as a hit-man and secretary, respectively. Duncan, for those of you not familiar with him, is a huge African-American man who demonstrates his comedic ability with this intentionally cliched tough-guy character. Peet is an exceptionally attractive female with a knack for delivering nutty punch lines in a fashion even more impressive than Willis.

Another key factor in the film's success is its ability to handle murder in such a hysterically nonchalant manner. For every bit as ultra-disturbing and spine tingling as The Talented Mr. Ripley was, The Whole Nine Yards is boisterously entertaining. This goes to show that a grade-A comedy ensemble can make extraordinary light of what was equally serious when presented in another manner. There are actually more deaths in this film than Ripley and The Whole Nine Yards plays at a fraction of Ripley's time.

Critics will likely quip that the movie loses points at the end due to over-sappiness and a forced romance. I beg to differ. The Whole Nine Yards truly achieves its full pomp when it manages to integrate these "awe!" scenes with its uproarious comedy. The end result is something that Hollywood hasn't seen a quality version of in a long time: a Friday night date flick.

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