|
Description In the tradition of such hard-boiled crime films as Get Shorty and Pulp Fiction, FROGS FOR SNAKES is a sexy neo-noir thriller centering on a group of New York theatre actors who moonlight as illegal money collectors.Unlucky in love, Eva (Barbara Hershey) has the most acting ability, but she dreams of abandoning the twisted underworld and living a quieter life on the beaches of Long Island.Her mob-boss-ex-husband Al (Robbie Coltrane) is a theatre impresario who promises acting roles in his upcoming production of David Marmet's classic play American Buffalo to those actors willing to kill for the part.Al wants Eva to pull off one more hit, promising her enough money from the job to start a new life.After she rejects his offer, she learns that her lover Zip (John Leguizamo) was shot dead leaving her apartment the night before.Now it's time to settle the score in this steamy, ultra-hip thriller. ... Read more Reviews (6) 
Entertaining wacky noir
Amos Poe takes the framework of neo-noir and wraps around it a wacky satire of actors so desperate for parts they'll kill for 'em. To top it off, the "impresario" who puts on the plays is a big guy, played by Robbie Coltrane--an English actor with an impeccable tough Noo Yawk accent--who's also a mob boss. What Poe's really done here is to give us the New York City that really exists--the one full of attitude, show business, desperation, "me first", and day-to-day toughing it out.
The reason this all works is because Poe makes it obvious that this is, after all, a movie--that is, another piece of show business that's being used to show how the business itself is so cut-throat it makes killers of those scrambling within it for placement. There IS some humor here, the laugh-out loud kind, and there is the overall premise which is cleverly done, albeit in a somewhat cartoonish way. But the intensity of most of the dialogue more than makes up for whatever cartoonish elements may exist. The cast here is a good one--and all of them (aside from the "impresario") are actors. Barbara Hershey is the least cartoonish of the characters, the mob boss' ex. John Leguizamo is her lover. Lisa Marie is another divorcee, also with a young kid. Debi Mazar, who gives the most unfortunately cliched monologue in the film, is the most desperate of the actors. Clarence Williams III--who cannot give a bad performance if he tries--HAS to play Teach, in American Buffalo, the mob boss' next show. And Harry Hamlin is the lowlife who is sure HE will play Teach. Also on hand are Mike Starr, Justin Theroux and Ron Perlman who do their New York characters proud--as does the rest of the cast--with real panache. Poe is also poking fun here at David Mamet; all his characters have the same monosyllabic names that Mamet favors in his play American Buffalo which is the actors' focal point. So here we have Klench, Zip, Flav, Simone, Myrna (I lied; the women have two-syllable names), and Crush. This is not a great film, but an amusing one, especially, maybe, for actors struggling to make it big in the Big Apple.
Not For The Stupid at Heart
Frogs for Snakes takes many of todays tratitional actors and expounds on their true abilities to entertain and act. This film is nothing short of enlightening when compaired to the pretense of other movies. The guise cast by this assemblage of actors is perfection.
this movie is great
if you didn't like it, you have no idea what goes on in the new york acting world. you'll do better with Third watch!
Self-conciously cute, poorly cast. Not 1 laugh.
My initial review submitted here a few weeks a go has mysteriously disappeared. This time I will make certain not to mention that one leading lady was much to old to be playing her assigned "kooky" role of an ingenue just beginning her career. The plot was contrived with such a forced sense of "aren't we cute?" that I was actually angered! Murders of aspiring actors and perpetrated by their competitors for the roles. Just not funny. The cinematography and art direction are great, as is the performance by Mike Starr, a perpetually underrated pro. (see him in Mad Dog and Glory!) Skip this clumsy attempt at physical farce. Did they really think it was going okay when they saw the dailies, I wondered? n with
Back to the swamp with this one!
As a devoted cinemaste who has seen literally 1000's of films over the years, I am usually more forgiving and pragmatic about less-than-perfect cinema than the casual viewer. HOWEVER,my reaction to "Frogs For Snakes" goes beyond such trite expressions of repulsion like "I HATED this movie!" No, I didn't JUST "hate" this film. I WANT THOSE 100 MINUTES OF MY LIFE BACK! I also want a written apology from the writers,directors and producers for subjecting me to the type of torture that I am sure violates one or more rules of the Geneva Convention. Oh how they suckered me in! A "quirky" premise (actors who are literally killing each other for coveted parts in a play)... "Indie Street Cred Casting" (Barbara Hershey, Ian Hart, Robbie Coltrane, Debie Mazar).Even some "High Camp Value Career Resurrection Casting" (Harry Hamlin, Clarence Williams III). Oh yes, they saw ME approaching a MILE AWAY! This misguided slopfest should have been re-titled "Return Of The Stepford Wives 2" as the cast sleepwalks through it all with a dazed, high school thespian reading off the cue cards demeanor. A total waste of acting talent and film stock. Even on a slow night, you'll be much better served watching that "Saved By The Bell" marathon on channel 253.
... Read more |
