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Double Take
A bad back leads to a humiliating career faux pas for Denis Leary's unfortunate cop in Tom DiCillo's amusing but mixed-up comedy. Also stars Elizabeth Hurley
Straight to DVD in the States but finding a theatrical release over here, Double Whammy opens on an awkward mix of violence and comedy: a massacre in a burger bar, which Detective Ray Pluto (Leary) fails to stop because his back's given out. From then on he's labelled the "loser cop" and tries hard to shake off this image. Meanwhile he's embarking on an affair with his sexy chiropractor Dr Ann Beamer (Hurley), investigating the shooting of his neighbour Juan (Guzm??n), and dealing with the sexual identity crisis of colleague Jerry Cubbins (Buscemi). Added to this mix are two inept gangsters and a pair of pretentious wannabe-scriptwriters. While Pluto finds recovery hard work, the film struggles to find focus among its quirky characters and disparate plot strands. With a deadpan lead and a plot that flits between various characters, it's hard to really get caught up in the drama. DeCillo (Living In Oblivion, The Real Blonde) has gone for comic capers over characterisation, and a film that partly deals with personal loss and crisis ends up losing any resonance its serious side might have had. Even aided by good performances and some genuinely funny moments, DeCillo's script fails to find a hook to really pull us in. Verdict A slight comedy which nonetheless is well acted and keeps the pace brisk. Diverting enough to devote a couple of hours viewing time to, if a little too forgettable. |
