Movie Type: Crime Thriller, Post-Noir (Modern Noir)
Themes: Dishonor Among Thieves, Small-Town Life, Dangerous Friends
Main Cast: Alessandro Nivola, Father Terrance Sweeney, Rebecca Klingler, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin, Kate Hendrickson, Owen Bush, Rocky Carroll, Michael Hagerty, Jesse Woodrow
Release Year: 1999
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Absolutely nobody is who he or she seems in this stylish thriller about a guy who wants to get out of his fly-speck hometown, the girlfriend who wants to help him, and the successful friend who just might make it possible. When Bryce (Josh Brolin) returns to his tiny hometown of Tropico, NV, he finds pal Nick (Alessandro Nivola) still living there unhappily. One night the pair meets a beautiful blonde at the bar and eventually Bryce takes her back to the house where he's staying. When the girl, Lissa (Reese Witherspoon), reveals that she's under age and threatens to turn Bryce in for statutory rape, he panics, ties her up in the basement, and puts in an anguished call to Nick. Little does Bryce realize, however, that Lissa is actually Nick's very grown-up girlfriend, and that the two lovers have decided Bryce and the ritzy house where he's staying will play a major role in their bid to leave behind dead-end Tropico forever. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
A slick visual sense, tight plotting, clever comic relief, and plenty of post-Tarantino playing around with time distinguish this neo-noir thriller from sophomore director Mike Barker. Writer Ted Griffin knows that double-crosses and unreliable narration are the name of the game in this genre, but he still manages to keep the audience guessing with his labyrinth script. It helps that preppy Josh Brolin makes such a believably slimy bachelor and that Reese Witherspoon's cover-girl features and frosty reserve are so indelible. Dead-end settings, picturesque villains, and graphic violence may be stock devices in the playful end of the noir revival, but the PC button-pushing and gender subtext of Best Laid Plans make for a richer, more nuanced viewing experience than we'd get from a straightforward genre effort of similar quality. Special notice should be paid to the performance of Alessandro Nivola, whose poutily handsome features and barely checked intensity also graced Michael Winterbottom's similarly dark I Want You. Best Laid Plans doesn't live up to the quality of that film, but it does mark Barker and Griffin as filmmakers to watch. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Michael McCleery - Recycling Owner; Terrence Howard - Jimmy; James Marsh - Barry; Gene Wolande - Lawyer; Sean Nepita - Freddie; Jonathan McMurtry - Vet; Jody Wood - Bruhfire Cop; Teddy Vincent - Lawyer Secretary; José Mendoza - Renaldo; Jane Morris - Realtor; David Mandel - Evangelist; Alec Berg - Phone Guy No. 1; Jeff Schaffer - Phone Guy No. 2
Credit
John R. Zachary - Art Director, Jason McDonald - Animator, Kevin Hyde - Boom Operator, Mali Finn - Casting, Julian Pinn - Consultant/advisor, Craig Armstrong - Conductor, Isobel Griffiths - Conductor, Cecilia Weston - Conductor, Nancy Paloian-Breznikar - Co-producer, Susan Matheson - Costume Designer, Paul N. Martin - First Assistant Director, Mike Barker - Director, Sloane Klevin - Editor, Mike Newell - Executive Producer, Brenda Blatt - Hair Styles, Diane Friedman - Location Manager, Kenneth Hunter - Location Manager, Craig Armstrong - Composer (Music Score), Alistair McLeod - Composer (Music Score), Stephen Hilton - Composer (Music Score), Paul Keogh - Composer (Music Score), Brad Wilder - Makeup, Nathaniel Goodman - Camera Operator, Sophie Becher - Production Designer, Ben Seresin - Cinematographer, Betsy Beers - Producer, Chris Moore - Producer, Alan Greenspan - Producer, Sean Bailey - Producer, Phil Bartko - Special Effects, Jay Bartus - Special Effects, Dawna Hammond - Special Effects, Randy Krohmer - Special Effects, Reinhard Stergar - Sound/Sound Designer, Andy Kennedy - Sound Editor, Gina-Raye Carter - Stunts, Spike Silver - Stunts Coordinator, Dwayne Shattuck - Unit Production Manager, Ted Griffin - Screenwriter, Robert Anton - Production Assistant, Mary Holliday - Production Assistant, Robert Fegen - Production Assistant, Bryan Kelly - Production Assistant, Keith England - Production Assistant, Ben Barreraz - Production Assistant, Leon Bean - Production Assistant, Tom Cole - Production Assistant, Jerome Deaver - Production Assistant, Kurt Lowe - Production Assistant, Charles Randalls - Production Assistant, Waseem Shahla - Production Assistant, John Shull - Production Assistant, Andy Kennedy - Sound Effects Editor, Martin Cantwell - Sound Effects Editor, Lisah Smith - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Sue Chipperton - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Diane Branigan - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Michelle Crenshaw - First Assistant Camera, John A. Burke - First Assistant Camera, Jeffrey Cunningham - First Assistant Camera, Robert Magnano - First Assistant Camera, Mark Strasburg - First Assistant Camera, Lonnie Gatlin - Gaffer, Clay Fowler - Grip, Ralph Del Castillo - Grip, Joel Bystrom - Grip, Chris Roundtree - Grip, James Hughes - Grip, Sean Patrick Crowell - Key Grip, Jeff Gregg - Key Grip, Graham Sutton - Music Editor, Richard Norris - Musical Performer, Tracey Gibbons - Post Production Coordinator, P. Todd Coe - Post Production Supervisor, Bruce Everett - Post Production Supervisor, Linda Warrilow - Production Coordinator, Gay Perello - Properties Master, Sherilyn Stetz - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Robin O'Donoghue - Re-Recording Mixer, Dominic Lester - Re-Recording Mixer, Richard Street - Re-Recording Mixer, Jacqueline Clay - Script Supervisor, L. David Silva - Second Assistant Director, Jeff Miller - Special Effects Assistant, Gary P. D'Amico - Special Effects Coordinator, Gregory W. Smith - Steadicam Operator, Jim Sheldon - Still Photographer, Ross Adams - Supervising Sound Editor, Beth Rogers - Costume/Wardrobe, John Bateman - ADR Recordist, Sloane U'ren - Assistant Art Director, David Sandefur - Assistant Art Director, Jennifer Flygare - Assistant Art Director, Rodney Sheriff - Assistant Art Director, Gabriel Ynda - Assistant Location Manager, Jason D. Cutler - Assistant Location Manager, Chris Kahn - Assistant Production Coordinator, William Kelly - Assistant Properties, Nancy M. Bates - Assistant Properties, Susan King - Assistant Properties, Stuart Morton - Assistant Sound Editor, Eric Smith - Best Boy Electric, John R. Koth - Best Boy Grip, Allison M. Hickerson - Camera Loader, Susa Kohlstedt - Camera Loader, Jaimie Stevens - Camera Loader, Emily Schweber - Casting Associate, Douglas A. Shaw - Construction Coordinator, Matt Grime - Dialogue Editor, Michael Redbourne - Dialogue Editor, Steve Ruffing - Dolly Grip, Amy Alarian - Electrician, Glen Magers - Electrician, Jerald L. Wilson - Electrician, Daniel P Hawking - Electrician, Jeff Smith - Electrician, Sherry Aude - Extra Casting, Wendy Howell - Extra Casting, Shaun McGovern - First Assistant Accountant, Jo Dale - First Assistant Editor, Kevin Ahern - First Assistant Editor, Pattye Rogers - First Assistant Editor, Catriona Richardson - First Assistant Editor, Paul Knight - First Assistant Editor, Pauline Griffiths - Foley Artist, Paula Boram - Foley Artist, Peter Holt - Foley Editor, Jeila Gueramian - Key Costumer, Patti Grant - Lead Scenic Artist, Susan J. Bonno-Buckner - Post Production Accountant, Harvey Malkin - Production Accountant, Cecilia Escobar - Second Assistant Accountant, Basil Bryant Grillo - Second Second Assistant Director, Tijana Agic-Gaudio - Set Dresser, Curtis Lelash - Set Production Assistant, Peter C. White - Set Production Assistant, Jason Ballard - Transportation Captain, Guy J. Graves - Transportation Captain, Matthew Ballard - Transportation Coordinator, David Sewell - Visual Effects, Nicki Roberts - Set Decorator, David J. Beres - Cable Person, John K. Izumi - Construction Foreman, Paul Porter - Construction Foreman, Horst Jung - Craft Service/Catering, Joyce Lavell - Craft Service/Catering, Art Snyder - Craft Service/Catering, Edward Colyer - Foley Mixer, Sarah Yang - Production Secretary, David O Krupnick - Set Medic/First Aid, Louis M. Nigro - Special Effects Foreman, Josh Hadley - Swing Gang, Tom Lewis - Swing Gang, Kevin Egeland - Graphic Design, Simon Giles - Title Design, Ann Shea - Art Department Coordinator, Elan Evans - Painter, Hector Fernandez - Painter, Maria Jaramillo - Painter, Jeffrey Ca Leahy - Painter, Jose Lopez - Painter, Rangel Mata - Painter, Diane Taylor - Painter, Jim York - Painter
