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Stand Up Guys

Stand Up Guys (2012)

December. 14,2012
|
6.4
|
R
| Action Comedy Thriller

After serving 28 years in prison for accidentally killing the son of a crime boss, newly paroled gangster Val reunites with his former partners in crime, Doc and Hirsch, for a night on the town. As the three men revisit old haunts, reflect on their glory days and try to make up for lost time, one wrestles with a terrible quandary: Doc has orders to kill Val, and time is running out for him to figure out a way out of his dilemma.

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SpuffyWeb
2012/12/14

Sadly Over-hyped

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AnhartLinkin
2012/12/15

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

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Ella-May O'Brien
2012/12/16

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

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Kimball
2012/12/17

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

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bluekarma06
2012/12/18

I agree with several other reviewers here who say that you probably need to be older to appreciate all that is going on in this fine movie. Having grown up thru the great years of Pacino and Walken and Arkin(who was not a lead usually but support as he is here), I truly enjoyed how each of these fine actors personality traits came thru in their characters without becoming cheesy sterotypes of themselves. Pacino was Pacino and Walken, well he's Walken! You get a fine dose of controlled crazyness from all 3. They were totally beleivable in thier roles as hitmen for the mob. Now that they are much older and ready for the rocking chairs, one last score has to be settled for the mob boss(the dude from Breaking Bad in the wheelchair and the bell who could talk!). This one last job will test their friendship and loyalty to the max. I wont say what it is because it's better to see everything for yourself. This movie is the kind of flick you can watch again and again over the years, share with similar older friends you grew up with and really appreciate. The funniest line in the movie(and there was a few) was when they opened the truck of the stolen car and foound a women naked and tied up. Pacino asks her how she got in there and she says "I am taking a vacation" and Walken says "what does that even mean?"! I am laughing now as I recall it. It shows the differences in the world and the gap between the younger and older generations and how we see and treat each other. It's a great moment. It was funny, nostalgic(no modern gadgets accept the car they stole including rotary phones were used) and drama and heartfelt drama about friendship and love. It was damn near perfect.

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elshikh4
2012/12/19

So why you felt unsatisfied after the movie's end ? It's not a bad movie by all means. OK, I think I have the answer for that.The thing is that script is all about comedy. Yes, it's a black comedy, with potential character study. Also it's thrilling, with numbered hours before inevitable, very sad, climax. Add to that, a pretty neat twist in the end, where the meaning is "leave with a bang", or "die with your friend, instead of dying alone", or maybe "let's turn out sunset to sunrise". However, the real goal that this script wanted, and spared no effort to reach it.. was comedy ! Accordingly we have 2 problems. The first is that the comedy didn't hit a big mark. "Disgusting" is a fair word to describe most of it with scenes in a brothel, conversations about penises, bad erection sequence, nutcracker joke.. etc, etc, till it approaches being a nasty sex comedy. That was awful, let alone boring as well. Aside from that, you'd get freely obnoxious moments like snoring medicine bills (why not swallowing them ??). Disgusting comedy both ways !The second problem is the bad irony between the light and average at best material on one hand, and the super heavyweight names in the cast on the other. When you read names like Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, you have to think Oscar worthy, deepness behind the drama, seriousness along comedy. But sorry. No such luck. That's why it has that vibe of a very good TV movie, that should have had Danny Aiello, Chazz Palminteri, and Gary Busey as lead actors instead. Or – better – needed a wholly comic cast since the start, with better comic situations too.In terms of faulty script, I believe Walken isn't that stupid to kill Pacino in the bathroom with no silencer (too noisy, too bloody, it would be a mess !). Pacino didn't have to tell the detailed story of killing the mob boss's kid wrongly, since Walken was there anyway. The running gag of "kicking a**es, and chewing gum" is a frank proof of writing lacking. Originally, why to borrow form another movie, and I mean They Live (1988), and don't make a quirk by yourself ?? Plus, considering the ages of the movie's writer and director, Noah Haidle and Fisher Stevens respectively, that line could be a running gag between them since the late 1980s, not between those 2 lead characters who are much older (Pacino's character went to jail at least in 1984, namely 4 years before that movie was even made !).Yet, what irritates me more is the lost chances. While the movie had forces of nature as lead actors, it didn't try to invest them rightly. I thought that in the diner scene the 3 characters would have some talk about the old days, with exploring their fears, dreams, joys, and frustrations. However, what I had was "I want to do 2 girls in the same time", and before you know it Arkin drops dead ! Another lost chance when Pacino goes to confess in the church. I hoped to see the serious side of the movie there. But it turned out to be another attempt at comedy, which was done poorly by the way !The oldies on the soundtrack didn't make me at ease. Although they're wonderful, but the idea of old music on soundtracks became so trite lately. Why not thinking in something more innovative ?! Once, in 1949, a mystery English movie by the title of The Third Man, directed by a good guy named Carol Reed, went to use a cherry music by a nice gent named Anton Karas, for all the dark and edgy time of the movie. Hollywood misses, or maybe forgot, that revolutionary spirit, to a degree where their soundtracks became something sellable more than distinct. A safe move, though not that artistic, and really commonplace !Fisher Stevens did well in his directorial debut, but not very well like his performance as a comedian / actor I adore. Addison Timlin and Walken were the best of this movie. Walken, in specific, ate up Pacino all the way. Couple of lines, and I mean only couple of lines, fascinated me : "We die twice; once, when the breath leaves our body, and once when the last person we know says our name", and "They look like the sunrise but I was painting you". The painting was great. And I liked the last moment a lot, it's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid-ish, but has its own character nevertheless. So all the time I expected much more, to find so little. No, I won't say the publicity fooled me. I'll say it's a waste to play a potentially powerful black comedy just for laughs. And it's worse than that already when those laughs aren't even there. And it's even worse and worse when you bring 3 of the finest actors to perform no fine comedy or drama. See, it's "bad ironies" not "bad irony" after all !

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Thebe Bashaleebee
2012/12/20

I wasn't paying attention when this movie came out, so I didn't know it came out.Had an urge to watch something with Walken in it and so I watched Seven Psychopaths and while studying Walken in that picture I was reminded of Al Pacino and wondered if they ever were in a flick together. So, I googled and found this gem of a movie.Hollywood missed a big ticket not teaming those two up decades ago.What a fun movie to watch: I loved watching the dialog between Walken and Pacino so much, I had to watch it twice.My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough of a ride. Loved the dead pan humor and I just couldn't get enough.If you are a fan of Pacino and Walken this is a MUST see. A bit sad to see them both aged and myself aged, but yet there is a warmth to the sadness. Boy, I hope the two get casted together at least one more time. Why the rating on IMDb is so low is beyond me. I'll be watching it again eventually because I enjoyed it so much.I wish I could personally thank the writer, the director, the casting people and especially whoever it was that first suggested to get Pacino and Walken for this movie. The script was perfect for the two of them and they were golden.

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g-bodyl
2012/12/21

Stand Up Guys is a low-budget film not only should earn appreciation by the older audience, but it certainly earned mine. I wasn't expecting anything crazy here, but I got a low-key drama featuring three very fine actors admittedly in their twilight years, a relatively good script, some good comedy, and the theme of friends being reunited after 28 years.Fisher Stevens directs a film about a man named Val who has been released from prison after 28 years for being a stand up guy or a loyal friend. His best friend and partner named Doc has been ordered to kill him, but before he can follow that order, Val, Doc, and their other friend Hirsch decide to have one last night together.As many people pointed out, I will admittedly watch anything on-screen featuring these trio of actors. They all done much better roles, but they are still good here. Al Pacino is of course a screen legend and his performance gave me some flashbacks. Christopher Walken is another screen legend and does a great job as the calm Doc. Alan Arkin, who seems to be having a career resurgence, does an excellent job in his limited role.Overall, Stand Up Guys is not the greatest movie about friendship, but it is effective enough. The direction seems a little faulty at time and I was a little disappointed with the ending. It didn't end the way it should have. But the chemistry between these three acting greats is sky-high and it's nice to see together for one last hurrah. It wouldn't be a film featuring these older actors without those Viagra jokes. But the film can be funny, sweet, and dark and it also has some killer songs by Jon Bon Jovi. I rate this film 9/10.

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