Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)

one of my absolute favorites!

A Brilliant Conflict

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Definitely not realistic. Every damn character is improbable. A mob boss trusting a delicate operation to someone who's not worked for him for years is ridiculous. Likewise him recruiting three incompetents and not picking up obvious signs that one of them should be kept well away from the 'front line'.But if the intention was humour, there is a lot too much real suffering for any normal person to laugh.Also it's racist. There is a major black character, but he does nothing sensible. Other blacks are shown as incompetent.And evil characters get their own sort of heaven? What sort of fool scripted it?

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is directed by Gary Fleder and written by Scott Rosenberg. It stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken. Music is by Michael Convertino and cinematography by Elliot Davis.Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) is a ex-gangster who finds one of his debts has been bought up by his ex boss, The Man With the Plan (Walken). The Man wants Jimmy to assemble a crew to put the frighteners on a guy who stole the girlfriend of his son, Bernard (Michael Nicolosi), who has been so traumatised by the break up he has taken to "bothering" young girls. Calling on four of his old comrades in crime, Jimmy feels it's a simple job that will finally clear him of his gangster debt whilst earning his hard up pals some cash. However, in fighting threatens to destabilise the group and when the "job" invariably goes wrong they all have to deal with the vengeful aftermath of The Man With the Plan.You wanna throw those pathetic yuks some scratch, I applaud your sensitivity.One of a number of films that surfed in on the wave created by Pulp Fiction, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a nifty and potent picture at times, with sharp dialogue, moments of brutalising and a fire-cracker of a neo-noir finale. Yet it's hurt considerably by the ridiculousness of the set up. Film hinges on a "shake down" arrangement that just comes off as a weak excuse for a film, in fact it's bad writing. There are a myriad of ways to set up a heist gone wrong and then have the crims be on the run for their lives, this set up is just pathetic. Buscemi's hit man is poorly conceived, with some glaring conflicting in the characterisation, while the Anwar (beautiful and leaving a good impression) love interest angle could have had much more made of it if the makers had had the courage of their convictions.Give it a name.Still, if you can allow the annoyance of the crappy set up to subside, then there's strong noir themes to indulge in here. A one time bad boy struggling to escape his past and characters stuck in a bleak destiny influenced rut they can't get out of. There's a pervading sense of depression hanging over the film, which in a twisted way makes for good film, while the character dynamics are strong because the characters are very memorable. Helps, too, that they have awesome names like Jimmy the Saint, Critical Bill, Franchise and Mister Shhh! Acting is very good, with Garcia earning his quality pathos stripes, Williams doing psycho with ease, Forsythe a mighty machismo presence, Lloyd resigned and pitiless and Walken turning in another in his long line of bitter scary bastards.Worthy of interest to neo-noir fans for sure, but frustration sits in the narrative to stop it being an essential viewing. 6.5/10

An excellent little crime drama that went under the radar for most people and didn't get the recognition it deserved from the critics. True - in many ways it could easily be labeled as just 'another Tarantino copy', the influence of Reservoir Dogs are hard to miss. Unlike most of Tarantino's followers, though, Things to Do in Denver has a distinct voice and style, solid storytelling with a fresh and interesting look at a familiar subject, and above all - a fantastic, colorful cast, with some standout performances from actors you don't usually see in this genre - Christopher Lloyd and Treat Williams stand out, and Andy Garcia and Steve Buscemi deliver some of their finest performances. For lovers of the genre it's very well recommended.

This might be one of the worst films I have ever seen. The story is terrible, completely unbelievable. The dialogue is terrible, the writer director seemed to just make up sayings, and greetings that didn't make any sense. I can't think of one enjoyable moment in this movie. I wish I had my 2 hours back. Do yourself a favor and skip this one, especially if you're looking for a gangster flick (as I have seen some people describe it). It is a slow moving quasi love story with little to no character or plot development. The people who made this movie should be ashamed of themselves. I might be biased because I read a few rave reviews about this movie, but don't believe them.