neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Knockaround Guys
	Brian Koppelman and David Levien Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Andrew Davoli, Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, Tom Noonan 2001		This limp crime comedy knocked around the studio's release schedule for so long that it hearkens back to the olden days when Vin Diesel ("XXX," "The Fast and the Furious") was a supporting actor. It would be nice to say that "Knockaround Guys" was worth the wait, but it's no great, unearthed treasure, despite an ensemble that deserved better material. The younger actors — Diesel, Barry Pepper ("Saving Private Ryan"), Seth Green ("Austin Powers in Goldmember"), Andrew Davoli ("The Yards") — give it their best shots as the loser sons of various mobsters. These junior Mafiosi want to be made men, but they're still perceived by their elders as callow, coddled kids. When they're given the assignment to transfer a bundle of ill-gotten loot from the West Coast to the east, they screw it up big-time and end up in a rural town, where they're confronted by a scheming local sheriff. That brings in the big guns: a mob boss, played with scenery-chomping gusto by Dennis Hopper, and his second-in-command, misplayed in stilted fashion by a miscast John Malkovich. All in all, a misfire.