The Whole Nine Yards

Zatoichi's Review

Yes, go see it!

There have been so many recent comedies about hit men that its getting close to being overdone. Thank goodness this one still seemed fresh, full of good plot twists, an ending that resolved everything neatly, and best of all, a lot of good hearty laughs.

Matthew Perry starred and did a good strong job with the slapstick, shades of Steve Martin crossed with Steven Wright, deadpan and brilliant. Happily, I am one of the 8 Americans who did not watch "Friends" so he is still a fairly new face to me. All the other cast members performed their roles perfectly as well, Roseanne Arquette as the trashy wife who won't divorce him, Bruce Willis as the neighbor/hitman, Amanda Peet as the dental assistant, Natasha Henstridge (what a knockout!) as the wife of Jimmy the Tulip, Michael Clarke Duncan as the huge mob goon... every part well cast.

Perry plays a dentist living in suburban Montreal whose new neighbor, played by Willis, is a hit man hiding from Chicago mobsters. Almost every character is trying to kill one of the other characters in the film, whose press notes describe it as "a comedy about life, love and plenty of ammunition."

This is one I might even go see again. It was refreshing to see such a good movie at this time of year, when the picking are usually so darn slim.

Bang for the Buck: Full price movie
Movie Mood: Comedy
Recommends to friends? Yes
HSX Recommendation: Long at the current price ($34.13 on Feb 13)

Zatoichi February 14th^th, 2000