Monday, June 7, 2010
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Monday, June 7, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Killers
Wanted: A Movie That Makes
Sense
Katherine Heigl as Jen and Ashton Kutcher as Spencer in Robert Luketic's film
"Killers", which opened last Friday in the U.S. and Canada. Lionsgate
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Monday, June 7, 2010
"Killers" joins "Cop Out", "The Bounty Hunter",
"Our Family Wedding" and
"Sex And The City 2" in the realm of the inexplicable: sloppy, lazy,
incoherent films that insult the audience's intelligence. Robert Luketic
directs Katherine Heigl, who starred in his film "The
Ugly Truth" last summer. Ashton Kutcher joins Ms. Heigl on the
director's new jaunt, which was in need of more rewrites.
Mr. Kutcher plays Spencer Aimes, a charming businessman. Spencer is in
league with the CIA as an operative. He's first seen in the south of
France. Jen (Ms. Heigl) is vacationing there, trapped between a lush of a
mother (Catherine O'Hara) and a straight-laced father (Tom Selleck). Jen
and Spencer meet and hit it off. Before you can say "ridiculous", they've
been married three years. They barely know each other.
"Killers" begins with a close-up of Ms. Heigl's face but in hindsight I'm unsure
why. Is the whole film happening from her point of view? Most likely
not. Ms. Heigl shrieks and bumbles her way through. Her perky Jen
almost forgets her name and has a short attention span at one point, just like
this haphazard film does. You know that Ms. Heigl can do better, and that
she is far smarter off screen in Mr. Luketic's comedies.
The film's opening credits and scenes unfold, portending James Bond or a
"Mission: Impossible"-type adventure. Is it an action film, however?
Nope. Not really.
Romantic comedy? Not exactly. Juvenile male-bonding picture?
Momentarily. Marriage farce? Guess again.
In short, "Killers" hasn't a clue what it is or wants to be. Worse, the
film takes itself seriously. Beyond its nonsensical detours we care
nothing about the characters, caricatures who aren't even remotely interesting,
and that's because the script by Bob DeRosa and Ted Griffin doesn't take the
time to care either.
The set-up scenes (there really aren't any) and general construction of
"Killers" is exceedingly weak. What follows the scenes doesn't connect or
fit. Episodes emerge from nowhere and are as shadowy as the CIA itself.
Early on it's unclear who Spencer kills and why. The scenes between Jen
and Spencer are awkward. In one, a character removes things from a
child-size book-bag and puts a gun inside. Later the character talks about
pregnancy, "babies and guns". Disturbing.
Presumably Lionsgate knew that "Killers", which opened last Friday, had
problems. The mini-major studio didn't screen the film for critics at
large. That's almost always a tell-tale sign that a movie studio has a
disappointment on its hands, even though the estimated box-office return for
"Killers" across North America this past weekend was $16.1 million, according to
ERC Box Office.
Ashton Kutcher is a nice guy off screen, media savvy, humanitarian, etc.
But on screen he just isn't convincing as a killer. (Further, the film's
ever-shifting tone subverts its very title as an ultimate sabotage.) Mr.
Kutcher's potential is seen neither here nor in February's
"Valentine's Day" (now on DVD.) Watch
him in a small independent film called "Spread" (2009). Few have seen it
but it features good work by Mr. Kutcher, who I think can be challenged a lot
more on the big screen as an actor than he presently is. In "Killers",
it's a walk in the park for him, but both he and the film are whistling in the
dark.
In "Goodfellas" and other mob movies you've heard that killers come with smiles.
In this hapless, toothless film they come from out of the blue.
With: Martin Mull, Rob Riggle, Katheryn Winnick, Kevin Sussman, Lisa Ann Walter,
Casey Wilson, Alex Borstein.
"Killers" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture
Association Of America for violent action, sexual material and language. The film's duration is one hour and
35 minutes.
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