Short and sweet: it's a good movie, and I'm a little surprised at myself for taking so long to get around to it. If you liked Pulp Fiction, here is a second helping of John Travolta doing his gangster act. He's not playing precisely the same character in both movies, but there is a comfortable resemblance. The story is wonderfully twisted, without quite the eye-popping turns Tarantino would use; it's still satisfying in its own way.
The story, the plot... it's all key to the movie, but irrelevant to this review. Just know that there's enough story to carry all of the wisecracks and awkwardly comedic situations. No need to spell it out past that.
Beyond Gangster Travolta, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo, and James Gandolfini all turn in fine performances. This was a cast of pros firing on all cylinders, to good result.
Other... released nearly 20 years ago, it holds up well. The suits and the hair and the sets don't seem particularly dated. They were designed to be slightly outlandish for 1995, and remain enough so today that it translates well. The running gag about "the Cadillac of minivans" remains funny, again because it's so improbable. Perhaps some of the airport hijinks are a little more implausible in a post-9/11 world, but that's about it. "Timeless"? Maybe, it's a little too soon to give it that label, but yeah, it's still in the running for the honor.
Bottom line: 3.5 out of 4 stars.
After one review turkey and one movie wave-off this week, it's kind of nice to say a few nice things. Puts me in a good mood. Maybe I'll go wash some dishes and pay some bills now.
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