Themes: Going Straight, One Last Heist, Mafia Life
Main Cast: John Malkovich, Dennis Hopper, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Seth Green
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this crime comedy. Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss, Benny "Chains" Demaret (Dennis Hopper). When Matty was 12 years old, Benny and Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) decided to see if Matty had what it took to be in the mob; they gave the boy a gun and ordered him to shoot a longtime enemy of the family. Matty lacked the nerve to do it, and ever since, Benny has been convinced his son is a coward. As an adult, Matty is stuck between a rock and a hard place; he'd like to work as a sports agent, but his family's criminal ties make that all but impossible, and his dad won't give him a chance in the family's operations. Uncle Teddy decides to give Matty a chance to make good by asking him to pick up a payment of $500,000 in Spokane, WA. Matty puts together a crew of three friends, all sons of mob guys, to help him out: muscle bound Taylor (Vin Diesel), ladies' man Chris (Andrew Davoli), and cocaine-addled would-be pilot Johnny (Seth Green). Getting the money goes just fine, but during a refueling stop in Montana, Johnny has to hide the money to keep it from being discovered. It's then promptly stolen by a pair of burnouts. When Matty and his crew discover the money is missing, they head back to Montana, but before long, they find out that the sheriff (Tom Noonan) is onto them, and that he has his own plans for the cash; they also learn that Uncle Teddy has some plans he didn't tell them about. Knockaround Guys marked the directorial debut for the screenwriting team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The crime drama Knockaround Guys would have been straight-to-video, if it had not been for the box-office pull of muscleman Vin Diesel playing a supporting role. Shot almost three years before its theatrical release, this coming-of-age mobster tale tries to mimic its contemporaries, like the superior HBO series The Sopranos. However, the psychological intrigue and family drama in this movie is not that compelling. The brief appearances of Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich are interesting yet strangely unconvincing due to the mediocre dialogue of fake gangster-speak. What this movie does have is strong action scenes and very attractive leads. Basically, the best assets are the young, hunky characters looking tough in leather jackets and greased hair. Similar to what Young Guns didn't do for the Western, Knockaround Guys doesn't add anything new to the crime genre, just a more youthful face. Fans of Vin Diesel will be pleased, as his muscles are in full view during his alternating moments of clobbering and moralizing. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Andrew Davoli - Chris Scarpa; Tom Noonan - Sheriff; Nicholas Pasco - Freddy the Watch; John Liddle - Heslop; Michael A. Miranda - Noriega
Credit
Kei Ng - Art Director, Laurel Smith - Casting, Julie Kirkham - Co-producer, Beth Pasternak - Costume Designer, Andrew Shea - First Assistant Director, Brian Koppelman - Director, David Levien - Director, David Moritz - Editor, Michael De Luca - Executive Producer, Stan Wlodkowski - Executive Producer, Brian Witten - Executive Producer, Clint Mansell - Composer (Music Score), Lester Cohen - Production Designer, Tom Richmond - Cinematographer, Lawrence Bender - Producer, Brian Koppelman - Producer, David Levien - Producer, Cal Loucks - Set Designer, Douglas Ganton - Sound/Sound Designer, Brian Koppelman - Screenwriter, David Levien - Screenwriter
Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a mob boss, but he is used as little more than an errand boy. His relative and friend Chris (Andy Davoli) shares this urge to be part of something bigger, and Matty finally convinces his father to give him a job, with the help of his father's right-hand man Teddy (John Malkovich). Matty and Chris get their friend Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) to fly up to retrieve a bag full of money for Matty's father Benny "Chains" Demaret (Dennis Hopper), as there have been mysterious shortages in their money lately.
On the way back with the cash, Marbles stops in a small Montana town to refuel his personal plane and misplaces the bag accidentally. He calls Matty and tells him the news. Matty, though extremely upset, knows that he must fix the situation quickly and quietly if he ever wants to work for his father. Matty, Chris, and their friend Taylor (Vin Diesel) fly to the small town of Wibaux, Montana to help Marbles search for the missing money. The bag of money is found by two local teenage skateboarders.
While in town, Matty and the other guys attract the attention of two local law-enforcement officers (Tom Noonan and Shawn Doyle) who find out about the money and want to keep it for themselves. The mob guys then try to negotiate with the officers to get the money back but are turned away. Matty calls Teddy and Teddy arrives in Wibaux with two other mob henchmen. Chris decides to leave for home and disappears. Marbles hangs around in a bar with the two mob henchmen who secretly hate him, while Taylor and Matty wait in their hotel for word from the Sheriff. After taking him outside in a friendly manner, the two mob men throw Marbles to the ground and ask about the whereabouts of the other three. Marbles tells them he doesn't know and the two shoot him several times and throw his body in a trunk.
Later that night, a deal is arranged for the Sheriff and Deputy to meet Matty and Taylor in a warehouse. When they arrive, the lawmen are planning to kill Matty and the others and keep the money, but Teddy and the two mob men show up when Matty and Taylor do and they entire thing turns into a Mexican standoff. Chris arrives and shoots the Sheriff's cousin who came to help the Sheriff, and Matty and Taylor inquire about Marbles. Chris says that he thought he was with them. Teddy gives a signal to the two henchmen and they all fire on Chris who is killed. The Sheriff and Deputy, in the chaos, shoot the two mob men. Taylor then kills both of the lawmen but is shot in the arm by Teddy. Teddy's gun is out and Matty holds him at gunpoint. Matty says that it is Teddy that has been stealing and causing shortages from his father all along. Teddy tries to reload and shoot Matty claiming that Matty doesn't have the guts to shoot him, but Matty kills Teddy. Matty and Taylor get the money and return home. Upon giving the bag to his father, Matty is offered a position in with his father, but refuses it, claiming that he no longer wants to be part of it. He walks outside and he and Taylor get in a car and drive off.
