# Suicide Kings (1997)

### reviewed by
Nathaniel R. Atcheson

    Suicide Kings (1998)

Director: Peter O'Fallon Cast: Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Jay Mohr, Henry Thomas, Sean Patrick Flanery, Jeremy Sisto, Johnny Galecki, Laura Harris Screenplay: Josh McKinney, Gina Goldman, Wayne Rice Producers: Wayne Rice, Morrie Eisenman Runtime: 107 min. US Distribution: Live Rated R: profanity, nudity, drug use, violence

By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)

Suicide Kings is an entertaining, gritty crime movie about a bunch of rich kids who kidnap a powerful mobster. It features a lot of colorful characters, buckets of expletives, pointless scenes that are included strictly for entertainment value, and numerous moments of intense graphic violence. It's not profound or deep, or even that original, but director Peter O'Fallon and his talented cast force the standard material into a sly and elusively clever film that will placate even the most picky Quentin Tarantino fans.

The film centers around four guys somewhere in their twenties: Brett (Jay Mohr), Avery (Henry Thomas), T.K. (Jeremy Sisto), and Max (Sean Patrick Flanery). We learn that Avery's sister, Lisa (Laura Harris), has been kidnapped, and that the kidnappers are demanding two million dollars. Their plan is to kidnap Charlie Bennett (Christopher Walken), and get the money that way. They hold Charlie hostage in the home of their friend Ira (Johnny Galecki), whose parents are out of town; Ira gets very upset because everyone is drinking his parents' booze and dropping priceless antiques on the floor.

What makes a film like this good are the characters and the acting. Walken is, of course, fantastically fun to watch as the mob guy who has softened a bit in his later years. Walken is a veteran actor who can get away with playing himself, but he also manages to alter little aspects of his personality each time to make all of his performances subtly different. Also great is Denis Leary, who is another actor who usually plays himself. Here, he's a superviolent hitman for Charlie; he's the kind of guy who will shoot two thugs without flinching, but decides on a whim to hand five hundred dollars to a homeless guy who tries to wash the windows of his car.

I was also impressed with all of the younger actors. Jay Mohr is doing an excellent job of proving his worth as an actor, for I can't think of a young performer who has more flair and presence as this guy. Henry Thomas (yes, the same Henry Thomas from E.T.) is quiet and brooding, and handles a lot of the scenes here very well. Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder) is adequately interesting, as is Jeremy Sisto (who was great as the psycho in Hideaway). The one exception is Johnny Galecki; it's not completely his fault, for I'm sure Ira is supposed to be an irritating character. But he's also supposed to be funny, and I didn't find him particularly funny. That's okay -- there are plenty of other characters to divert my attention. Not all of these characters are totally developed, but there are a lot of them and they're interesting enough that a little bit of missed development is hardly noticeable.

The film, because of the sharp dialogue and O'Fallon's eclectic direction, moves swiftly and easily to its conclusion; the pace is certain and the story never feels forced. It seems to me that films like this should be more common, but they aren't -- not good ones, at least. Certainly Suicide Kings is not as original or ingeniously conceived as a film like Pulp Fiction, but there is enough talent at work here to make it a ridiculously entertaining two hours.

    *** out of ****
    (7/10, B)

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               Nathaniel R. Atcheson

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