Themes: Dangerous Friends, Drug Trade, Kids in Trouble
Main Cast: James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Vincent Kartheiser, Natasha Gregson Wagner, James Oris
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Following the acclaim for his 1995 Kids debut, Larry Clark directed this drug-crime drama, set in the Midwest of the '70s. Teen junkie Bobbie (Vincent Kartheiser) shares an apartment with his girlfriend Rosie (Natasha Gregson Wagner) and pal Danny (Branden Williams). Bobbie is injured during an encounter with a security guard but regains his health under the supervision of his dynamic drug-dealer uncle Mel (James Woods). After a successful robbery of speed from an out-of-town doctor's clinic, Bobby, Rosie, Mel, and Mel's melancholy gal Sid (Melanie Griffith) encounter gunplay in a drug deal gone sour. With Mel and Bobby both wounded, they retreat to the headquarters of a gun merchant known as the Reverend (James Otis). When Rosie loses her baby, she slips into a depression and more drug use. Mel recovers and begins planning another heist, but the group is beginning to unravel. Shown at 1998 film fests (Venice, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Paul Hipp; Brent Briscoe; Peter Sarsgaard; Kim Flowers; Branden Williams
Credit
Erin Cochran - Art Director, John Papsidera - Casting, Scott Shiffman - Co-producer, Kathryn Morrison - Costume Designer, Louis Shaw Milito - First Assistant Director, Larry Clark - Director, Luis Colina - Editor, Aaron Osborne - Production Designer, Eric Alan Edwards - Cinematographer, James Woods - Producer, Larry Clark - Producer, Stephen Chin - Producer, Art Rochester - Sound/Sound Designer, Christopher Landon - Screenwriter, Stephen Chin - Screenwriter, Paul Petschek - Additional Editing, Eddie Little - Book Author
A vending machine robbery by small time thief and drug addict Bobbie (Vincent Kartheiser) goes badly awry, and his friends contact street-wise thief and part-time druggie Mel (James Woods) to patch him up. Recognizing a kindred spirit, Mel befriends Bobbie and his girlfriend Rosie (Natasha Gregson Wagner), inviting them to join him and his long-suffering girlfriend Sid (Melanie Griffith) on a drug robbery which should set them up for life. The seemingly simple robbery is a great success, but the sale of the drugs afterward fails badly, and Mel and Bobbie are shot. The four take refuge with the Reverend, who charges them half of their haul from the robbery to care for them. In a desperate attempt to recover their losses, Mel involves the crew in a disastrous, ill-advised jewellery robbery, and they become caught up in a web of violence that rapidly spirals out of control.
