Double Whammy (2001)

Touches You

People are voting emotionally.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

I am a big fan of Liz Hurley and not at all a fan of D. Leary. That being said, I didn't expect much from this movie, and I didn't get much. The story is all over the place, with sub plots that has little meaning to the main plot. The lack of quality in the writing affects all the main characters, which means only Hurley, Buscemi and Luis Gúzman pass the grade.We got drama, crime, romance, and comedy. As for the romance, Leary is far from likable, and the relationship with his chiropractor is just not romantic nor credible. Apart from the aspiring film writing neighbors played by Donald Faison and Keith Nobbs, there is nothing funny at all in this movie.See this movie if you want to see the always beautiful Liz Hurley. Otherwise stay away. Leary should stick to stand-up, but I guess he ran out of Bill hicks routines to recycle.

"When you learn to respect your father, then maybe I'll let you look like a whore." – Guzman, talking about allowing his daughter to get a tattoo. The second-funniest line in the movie.DiCillo has such a knack for comedy; for clever, subtle-yet-hilarious satire, so it's a pity that he has only once gone all-out with it, without including the unnecessary drama. "Living In Oblivion" is his best film by far, and one of the funniest movies of the 90s. Unfortunately, he has an urge to mix it up a bit, even though the comedy always dominates, which is the prime reason none of his movie since LIO were as good.Casting Leary and Buscemi, an excellent decision, yes. But writing Leary's part in such a way that he has to cry in one scene? That's asking for trouble. You can tell Leary struggled hard to pull it off, and he barely did. He looks as if something got stuck in his eye. He must have hated that day of shooting. Never ask a comedian to cry - the audiences don't want to see it. Liz Hurley was certainly a strange choice for Leary's love-interest but she worked out surprisingly well.As the fun plot trots along DW touches on a variety of topics in a smart, unpretentious and humorous way, topics such as reverse racism, whites making fools of themselves when speaking Ebonics, the laughable but trendy tattoo-and-piercing culture, or the silly French obsession with symbolism in film. No cheap left-wing propaganda anywhere in sight (a real rarity these days), but a realistic, funny, down-to-Earth look at decadence and abject stupidity.Having the "bad guy" detective be right about the murder case (i.e. his suspicions about the daughter's involvement), as opposed to having Leary the "good guy" detective be the one with all the right answers, is just one example of how DiCillo avoids stereotypes thereby eliminating a crucial factor that causes boredom in movies. His characters are colourful and different, not the kind of walking cardboard cutouts we get to see in most other films."Just a bunch of MORONS poking holes in themselves!" – Leary, talking about the piercing craze, the funniest line in DW.

Now let me start off by saying this film ever won't win any awards. That said, I did find it surprisingly enjoyable, especially after reading so many negative reviews. It is kind of a Tarantino lite, with an urban setting, quirky characters, cartoon violence, irregular dialogue and strange plot twists. If you are a fan of films with a traditional narrative, this is not the movie for you. However, if you are a fan of Denis Leary (not unlike Tommy Gavin here) and you are a fan of black comedy, you might like this. It's one of Decillo's lesser works, but it's still more charming than what you might find at the Multiplex. I was rarely bored, and i had a few good chuckles, that's all i ask of a late night cable film. So give it a chance.

Just saw the film and I enjoyed how the layers were pulled back one at a time, until all the links were shown. I originally thought the unique characters of Cletis and Duke were there just to add flavor, but then they turned out to be more vital. And the understated approach of not stating outright that Jo Jo and Ping Pong were being hired to kill "Papi" left me feeling that the movie did not take our intelligence for granted, but assumed that the viewer is smart enough to figure it out. Denis Leary is funny, but I liked the supporting cast just as much. Without them, this funny comedy would have been pretty flat.Oh, and what is with Duke looking and sounding like Vanilla Ice?? Even to the shaved eyebrows and the slicked up hair :)