Themes: Unlikely Criminals, Bank Robbery, Kidnapping
Main Cast: Mickey Rourke, Stephen Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Jason London, David Arquette
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In this violent thriller, three young men start a joke that quickly becomes more real (and more dangerous) than they'd ever anticipated. It's 1957, and three high school seniors celebrating their graduation think it would be fun to pull a prank; David (David Arquette), Tim (Jason London), and Joe (Jonah Blechman) will fake a robbery by driving up to a bank, "shooting" one of their number with a blank gun, and throwing him in the trunk before speeding away. But just as they're playing their practical joke, Florence (Mickey Rourke) and Leon (Stephen Baldwin) are pulling an actual armed robbery at the same bank. In the confusion, the boys get mixed up with the real criminals, who take the teenagers hostage. Florence, unstable and given to sadistic tendencies, subjects the boys to torture with a clear homoerotic undercurrent; eventually, Florence and Leon tell the boys they'll release them only if they pull an actual bank job. The boys grudgingly agree, but Tim ends up grabbing window teller Patty (Sheryl Lee) instead of the cash. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jonah Blechman - Joe; Jeff Gardner - Ken; J. Michael Hunter - Big John; Sammy Kershaw - Officer Donny; Richard Olsen - Officer Duane; Emily Wachtel - Hairdresser; Tom Hull - Gas Station Attendant; Steve Alden - Officer Lyle; Paul Skemp - Young Farmer; Amy Parrish - Sheila; John Henry Scott - Older Farmer
Credit
Alison Sadler - Art Director, Larry Oliver - Associate Producer, Paul Warner - Director, Steve Nevius - Editor, Jay Cohen - Executive Producer, Hummie Mann - Composer (Music Score), Mark Weingarten - Musical Direction/Supervision, Tena Austin - Makeup, Ken Diaz - Makeup, Andrew Precht - Production Designer, Mark Gordon - Cinematographer, Edward Bates - Producer, Paul E. Martin - Set Designer, Steve Alden - Screenwriter, Paul Skemp - Screenwriter
Three friends decide to pull a prank and pretend to rob a bank when an actual bank robbery is taking place. The real bank robbers take them hostage and force them to rob a bank for them.
Although it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival (it lost to The Brothers McMullen), it never got domestic distribution in the United States.
Todd McCarthy of Variety did not care for the film:
“
There's material here for a film, at most, half the length of Fall Time, a thoroughly pedestrian crime drama.[1]
