Route 9 (1998)

Best movie ever!

As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

First of all, yes, I understand that movies are fictional and don't always necessarily strive for realism in all aspects, but to name a movie after US Highway 9 -- which runs through portions of New Jersey and Delaware -- even use the highway sign for the title, and then stage the movie in a (fictional) desert town of Grimley, NV . . . that's just stupid.From there it's all a very predictable, barely average movie. The acting is adequate enough to match the unexciting plot, which isn't saying much, and there seems to be an awful lot of mumbling (or maybe just a bad mix-down).Don't waste your time on it unless it's one of those times where you just watch whatever happens to be on HBO, it's late at night, and you don't mind falling asleep before the movie is over. . . .

When placing your eyes upon a TV Movie you would not expect that it will exceed your expectations. But this low budget movie definitely did. It centered around two police officers who decide to keep some 'drug related' money leading to various circumstances and unfortunate endings. The acting was good but a force-ful OTT acting that you would expect from a TV film with the rural town being a perfect spot for The Simple Plan. Like some people had noted before it is very similar to the underground hit, A Simple Plan, released that same year.It is not as good as the latter but I was genuine surprised with the results. The saying 'Money turns everyone into vultures' is widely portrayed throughout the beginning, right through to the finale.6/10

The premise of the movie is basically an inferior American rip-off of "Shallow Grave", a really great British thriller starring among others Ewan McGregor (famous from Trainspotting). In Route 9, two sheriffs in a calm rural county stumble upon a drug deal gone bad. All the criminals have shot each other dead, and in one of the cars is a briefcase filled with money. Sheriff Booth Parker (Kyle MacLachlan) wants to report in, but his partner Dwayne Hogan (Peter Coyote) persuades him that this is the great chance they have been waiting for; a miracle from God that will save them from the hell of being, basically, white trash without a future. They take the money and torch the car to (as they believe) cover their tracks before reporting in. To their horror, they then discover that one of the badly injured criminals is still alive and might have witnessed their theft. Hogan argues that their lives will be ruined if the man survives long enough to tell on them, and he "helps the man along" by suffocating him with his jacket. After this, they are forced to more and more evil acts as they desperately try to cover up their tracks. The acting is fair. Peter Coyote is not as convincing as Kyle MacLachlan, but MacLachlan does have the advantage of playing the Nice Guy With The Conscience. The plot is pretty predictable with a moralistic ending. See Shallow Grave instead, it is much more scary, realistic, fast paced and unpredictable.

Violent and funny--think "Fargo" in California and on a budget. Loved Roma Maffia as a Federal investigator--the only intelligent person in town.