| Disorganized Crime |
Movie poster for Disorganized Crime |
| Directed by |
Jim Kouf |
| Produced by |
Lynn Bigelow |
| Written by |
Jim Kouf |
| Starring |
Fred Gwynne,
Lou Diamond Phillips,
Ruben Blades,
William Russ,
Corbin Bernsen,
Ed O'Neill,
Daniel Roebuck,
Hoyt Axton |
| Music by |
David Newman |
| Cinematography |
Ronald Víctor García |
| Editing by |
Frank Morriss
Dallas Puet |
| Distributed by |
Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
April 14, 1989 |
| Running time |
98 min |
| Country |
United States |
| Language |
English |
| Budget |
$20 million |
| Gross revenue |
Domestic:
$7,724,000 |
Disorganized Crime is a 1989 heist/comedy film set in Montana. It was written and directed by Jim Kouf and released through Touchstone Pictures. The film stars Fred Gwynne, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ruben Blades, William Russ, Corbin Bernsen, Ed O'Neill, Daniel Roebuck and Hoyt Axton.
Plot
The story begins in a small town in western Montana where New Jersey based bank robber Frank Salazar has been hiding out from the law after a series of bank robberies in Newark. Upon realizing that the local bank contains a large amount of cash, Salazar recruits four former accomplices to come to town and help him rob the bank. Among them are Nick Bartkowski, a nervous and possibly alcoholic safecracker; Max Green, an old school explosives expert with a heart condition; Ray Forgy, a young, wisecracking auto thief and getaway driver; and Carlos Barrios, a well-manicured lookout and weapons expert.
Before they can arrive, however, two New Jersey detectives (George Denver and Bill Lonigan) catch up with Salazar, arrest him, and extradite him back to New Jersey. But Salazar soon escapes and becomes hopelessly lost in the Montana wilderness as he flees Denver and Lonigan's custody.
Unaware of Salazar's arrest and escape, the four accomplices arrive and realize that he is nowhere to be found. They finally decide to take down the bank on their own but must go through several humorous ordeals before they can complete their plan.
Cast
Release
Reviews and reception
Upon release, Disorganized Crime was met with mixed and overall poor reception by top critics. Both Siskel and Ebert gave it thumbs down; reproach was aimed at the lack of detail given to the bank heist plan. They also claimed that the film relies on "slapstick and cornball barnyard humor," cited its frequency of chase scenes and moments where characters fall in mud and manure. However, Ebert did credit the actions of Lou Diamond Phillips's character as a highlight.[1] Caryn James of The New York Times gave feedback largely echoing Siskel and Ebert and claimed that Ruben Blades gives "the only genuinely comic performance."[2] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post called it "a human rehash of the city-mouse/country-mouse story" but also praised Blades for his "comic zest."
As of 2009, IMDb shows the film at a 5.6/10 rating based on 925 votes.[3] Rotten Tomatoes also has it at 50%.[4] However, Disorganized Crime appears to have a sense of cult following as evident by its nearly unanimous high ratings on Amazon.com[5] and other enthusiastic reviews.[6][7]
In a 2003 interview with DVD Empire, Lou Diamond Phillips said regarding Disorganized Crime:
- "As a film, I felt it was a bit disappointing, and I think it should have been funnier. Unfortunately, I think the script was funnier than the actual film came out to be, but I think we were all on a different page. I think the director wanted to make more of an action film or a heist film than he wanted to make a comedy, and Jim Kouf - he was also the writer - I think that he shied away from the comedy of it, which is unfortunate because if we had gone that way I think the film would have been more satisfying."[8]
Home video
Disorganized Crime was originally released on VHS followed by a 1996 re-release and a laser disc format. It arrived on a single-disc DVD set on September 3, 2002.
Trivia
- Tagline: Five crooks without a plan. Two cops without a clue. And one bank vault without a scratch.
- In Jim Kouf's first draft, the ending was actually the exposition of the film.
- The movie was filmed on location in Hamilton, Montana in the Bitterroot Valley.
- The (somewhat inappropriate) German title of the film is Im Tresor ist die Hoelle los, which translates into All Hell Breaks Loose in the Strongroom.
- Jim Kouf also wrote the screenplay of Stakeout, a movie which is very similar in regard to its mixture of comedy and action. However, in Stakeout the cops are the good guys.
- Hoyt Axton, the actor and country musician who played Sheriff Henault, owned a ranch in Victor, Montana just a few miles from the movie's filming location.
- George and Bill's unmarked police car is referred to as a Chrysler by both the cops and the crooks even though it is obviously a Ford LTD Crown Victoria.
References
External links
