Main Cast: Christian Slater, Tim Allen, Portia de Rossi, Richard Dreyfuss, Billy Connolly
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Standup comedian turned director Chris Ver Weil makes his debut with this wild and woolly romantic comedy cum noir crime thriller. The film centers on Trevor Finch (Christian Slater), a master counterfeiter and career con who learns that he has a price on his head from mob hitman Critical Jim (Tim Allen). The reason turns out to be a wacky case of mistaken identity -- Finch has assumed the name Cletis Tout, a sleazy, long-dead French muckraker with, it turns out, a criminal history himself. Rewind to 1977, when Micah (Richard Dreyfuss) pulls off a massive diamond heist and buries his booty in a field with the help of his young daughter Tess. Five presidential administrations later, Micah and his cellmate Finch bust out of prison, only to learn from the now-grown Tess (Portia de Rossi) that the diamonds are behind the walls of another newly built prison. Meanwhile, sparks begin to fly between Tess and Finch. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review
The minor crime caper Who Is Cletis Tout? was the recipient of such critical guff, it's disarming how mild and inoffensive it actually is. The ads gave the impression of a lot of "goofy name humor," featuring quick takes of various characters uttering the words "Cletis Tout" in rapid succession. And yes, there is a character named "Critical Jim." But this film is more than a lame descendent of the Get Shorty school of pratfalls and pseudonyms -- though sometimes not much more. Writer/director Chris Ver Weil actually sees his story as more of a fairytale, a mode he establishes with the opening jewel heist conducted by an illusionist clown, to the tune of a child's music box. Ver Weil also fancies himself a student of film history, filtering those sensibilities through the character of Tim Allen's hitman, Critical Jim. Not only does Jim quote numerous classic films, but, while holding Christian Slater's Trevor Finch captive as part of a narrative framing device, he also spitballs with Finch about how to make his story more cinematic, including character development and use of the three-act story structure. In this way, Ver Weil's script even pokes fun at its own "cinematic" contrivances. Ver Weil's greatest sin is that his ideas are a little too ambitious for the ho-hum materials he has on hand, or for the jokey B-grade genre with which the film is rightfully affiliated. Also, he doesn't adhere to one of the most fundamental cornerstones of classic Hollywood movies -- that his romantic leads (Slater and Portia de Rossi) must have chemistry. Who Is Cletis Tout? is innocuous enough, but it can't measure up to the movies it worships. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Peter MacNeill - Detective Tripp; Elias Zarou - Detective Delaney; Richard Chevolleau - Detective Horst; RuPaul - Ginger Markum; Joseph Scoren - Rowdy Virago; Alan C. Peterson - Henry Flatt
Credit
Peter Emmink - Art Director, Michael Greenfield - Associate Producer, Marc Dorfman - Associate Producer, Candice Stroh - Associate Producer, Steven Brooksbank - Casting, Jon Comerford - Casting, Mary Jo Slater - Co-producer, Dennis Murphy - Co-producer, Tony Thatcher - Co-producer, Eric Sandys - Co-producer, Michael Philip - Co-producer, Betsy Cox - Costume Designer, Andrew Shea - First Assistant Director, Chris Ver Weil - Director, Roger Bondelli - Editor, Daniel Diamond - Executive Producer, Randy Edelman - Composer (Music Score), Charles Rosen - Production Designer, Jerzy Zielinski - Cinematographer, Daniel Grodnik - Producer, Robert Snukal - Producer, Jay Firestone - Producer, Adam Haight - Producer, Matt Grimaldi - Producer, Brian Avery - Sound/Sound Designer, Chris Ver Weil - Screenwriter, Garret Kerr - Supervising Sound Editor
