Scorched

Given the cast, and after seeing other comments on IMDb, I chanced it on this one, and it was well worth my money. I frequently burst out laughing. Undoubtedly the funniest bits are the extremely varied ways in which Woody Harrelson's character messes up - occasionally predictable, but well acted slapstick at its best. John Cleese was middling, best at the end, while the opening sequence has a splendid running gag and a marvellous outbreak by Alicia Silverstone. Perhaps Rachael Leigh Cook's and Paulo Costanzo's talents are underused, and the actor who played George Sr. in Arrested Development makes only a guest appearance. I hope there will be more good writing like this from Joe Wein.

It's too bad this isn't more recognized. It's quite funny, and there are golden moments herein. This has plenty of characters... some might say too many, though I would say that a fitting amount of time is spent on them. They are all strange types, and in general this has a lot of that vibe, and, again, there are those who will argue that it goes overboard. The acting is pretty solid, Costanzo is excellent. It may not be the most demanding as far as performances go. The plot is well-written, and certainly never lost my interest. The pacing is fairly even. This has a couple of impeccable surprises. The music is cool. The majority of the jokes and gags work, however, it can cause a loud and reverberating crash when the others fall flat. The DVD of this that I have... R2, if that makes any difference... holds no features. There is rather little language, but it's as strong as it comes. There is no violence, if a bit of the physical comedy can come off as disturbing. Sex goes no further than minor dialog and eye-candy. I recommend this to any fan of anyone involved in creating it. Just be sure that you do not let yourself be exposed to any quirk for a while before watching this, or you may OD on it. 6/10

I have to admit that after ten minutes I was ready to turn off the movie, I'm glad I didn't, it got a lot better and funnier. A good cast with an OK plot and a decent amount of humour. Well worth a try.

'Scorched' tries hard to draw laughter from the viewer and it does succeed in parts but overall it doesn't impress. The pacing is too slow and some of the gags fall flat. The comedy surrounding the heist is quite funny and John Cleese, towards the latter part of the movie, is laugh out loud hilarious. The subplot particularly the one surrounding the grudge Harrelson's character holds against Charles is one of the brighter parts of the movie. Woody Harrelson and Paulo Costanzo act well. Alicia Silverstone makes for sizzling eye candy but her performance is not up to marks. Rachel Leigh Cook is miscast. What 'Scorched' also lacks is style. It is set in a remote desert location but it could have used a little more energy boost. In the end, it makes for a decent one-time watch.

This movie is about three bank tellers who are ready to make drastic changes in their lives and over the same weekend each decide to rob different parts of the bank unbeknownst to each other. If you are a Paulo Costanzo fan you will not be disappointed. His angst about robbing the bank is priceless. He truly steals his scenes. So does Rachael Leigh Cook. As Paulo's roommate she plays a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic who is set on getting revenge on a John Cleese because she bought his get rich quick material after seeing it on an infomercial. Rachael is charmingly impish and is wonderful to watch. I also saw this in Cannes and thought it was the best comedy there.