8 Heads in a Duffel Bag

Plot

Cross What's up Doc with Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and you get this dark screwball comedy of murder and lost luggage. Mafia hitman Tommy Spinelli (Joe Pesci) is flying to San Diego with a bag that holds eight severed heads, which he's bringing to his superiors to prove that some troublesome rival mobsters are permanently out of the picture. Medical student Charlie Pritchett (Andy Comeau) is headed to Mexico with his fiancée Laurie Bennett (Kristy Swanson) to meet her parents. Charlie's suitcase is identical to Tommy's, and it's not until Tommy arrives in San Diego that he discovers that there are no heads in his bag, while Charlie realizes his duffel most certainly does not contain his vacation wardrobe. Tommy finds Charlie's address in the bag and heads to the fraternity house he calls home, where he drafts Charlie's friends Ernie (David Spade) and Steve (Todd Louiso) into finding him some replacement heads post-haste. Meanwhile, Laurie's parents (Dyan Cannon and George Hamilton) are a bit miffed to discover that their future son-in-law is travelling with a bag full of rotting heads, while Laurie is ready to give Charlie his walking papers. Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag was the directorial debut of screenwriter Tom Schulman, who won an Academy Award for his script for the movie Dead Poets Society. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

The most shocking thing about 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag -- whose premise is all right there in the title -- is that it was greenlighted in the first place. Second most shocking is that it's actually sort of fun. Playing an exhausted version of his familiar mobster sociopath, Joe Pesci seems almost bored by his obligation of tracking down his gruesome quarry. What might seem like lazy acting instead feels like a conscious choice on Pesci's part, which informs the rest of the cast in keeping the tone more lighthearted than the subject matter would suggest. Key assistance comes from newcomer Andy Comeau, who channels a young Daniel Stern as the panicky and confused boyfriend, and David Spade, who proves how effective he can be in a supporting role. Writer-director Tom Schulman has written some funny material about how Pesci's character searches for replacement heads, enlisting the unwitting help of Charlie's two fraternity brothers (played by Spade and an increasingly unhinged Todd Louiso), such that they're all eventually arguing whether one particular substitute is a "good Frank" or just a "so-so Frank." In the process, the heads themselves almost assume personalities. The portion involving Charlie's girlfriend's family in Mexico is a lot more broad, relying too much on the histrionics of Dyan Cannon as the girlfriend's mother, who boozes too much and then attacks Charlie with a fork. And a lot of the third-act plot mechanics leave a lot to be desired in the logic department. No one will mistake 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag for high art, but it's a surprisingly good-natured comedy that exceeds its bad reputation. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast

• Joe Pesci - Tommy Spinelli
• Andy Comeau - Charlie Pritchett
• Kristy Swanson - Laurie Bennett
• Todd Louiso - Steve
• David Spade - Ernie Lipscomb
• George Hamilton - Dick Bennett

Dyan Cannon - Annette Bennett; Howard George - Big Sep; Anthony Mangano - Rico; Ernestine Mercer - Fern Bennett; Frank Roman - Paco; Joe Basile - Benny

Credit

Thomas P. Wilkins - Art Director, Jane Jenkins - Casting, Janet Hirshenson - Casting, Amy McIntyre-Britt - Casting, Tim Foster - Co-producer, Sanja Milkovic Hays - Costume Designer, Paul Peters - Costume Designer, Benita Allen - First Assistant Director, Tom Schulman - Director, David Holden - Editor, Jeffrey D. Ivers - Executive Producer, Andrew Gross - Composer (Music Score), Greg Cannom - Makeup Special Effects, Adam Holender - Cinematographer, Steven Stabler - Producer, Brad Krevoy - Producer, John Bertolli - Producer, Ed White - Sound/Sound Designer

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