Partners

This film directed by Joey Travolta (brother of John) is a silly, stupid farce comedy with violence. Casper Von Dien & David Paymer are the leads. Paymer is usually very good, but here silly antics made me laugh. Caspar, on the other hand is nice to look at, & I was hoping he would have gotten the flogging he did recieve in Starship Troopers. This man cannot act.This film was sent direct to video as no one in his right mind would pay to see this. This is a poor film in all aspects. Rating * 34 points IMDB 2

The best thing about this movie is its characterizations, or even call them "stereotypes" -- not of personalities, but of the various ways of being kinda dumb, or having "no sense at all" in various situations, and how that interplays with trusting someone, letting your guard down.

It was fun to watch, and warmly humorous. It puts characters we all can see the foibles of right in our face, and asks the question of us, as we're watching, "do you think it will be worth it for, say, the Drifter (Van Dien), or his girlfriend (Vanessa Angel) to trust anyone at all? Short-term? long-term?

The plot twists keep you guessing at the film's answer -- yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes ... ??? A fun ride.

In brief, this is the same story as MIDNIGHT RUN (1988) with Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, MY BLUE HEAVEN (1990) with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, and NOTHING TO LOSE (1997) with Martin Lawrence and Tim Robbins.

It is a story I never get tired of hearing or seeing. Two men from wildly different backgrounds are thrown together. Each distrusts the other. Each believes the other to be nemesis. In some cases, one intends to rob, defraud, or escape from the other.

Then there is bonding. Idealization. Disappointment. Denigration. A second building of trust. Utter mutual dependency. Resolution. And end.

Everything depends on the set up, the chemistry, and the acting. I thought this was well done, considering that everything was B-team. Vanessa Angel did not seem up to her role.

Except for David Paymer, who is certainly NOT B-team. If you saw him in FOCUS (2001) with William H. Macy, you know of David Paymer as an A-team dramatic character actor. Casting him in this film was an odd bit. He held his own.

I wouldn't spend $30 for a DVD of this film but it is a nice 90 minutes while you are doing the laundry or baby sitting (after they have gone to sleep) or hanging out with friends.

PARTNERS (2000) **1/2 Low-budget, direct-to-video release about an ordinary man who illegally takes a top secret computer program from his high-tech work place and tries to sell it to an interested buyer. On his way across country to close the deal, Casper Van Dien intervenes and demands equal payment through the exchange. The screenplay isn't half bad, but I'm only giving it two and a half stars since I wouldn't re-watch it. It's one of those films that you may slightly enjoy, but you will have forgotten you had ever seen it after a week.

Rating System

***** Excellent **** Good *** Fair ** Poor * Bad

Main annoyance was this comedic element where the writer chose to portray the Japanese as talking with a lisp, saying W's instead of R's. That was bizarre. Hello Mr. Writer, velly solly, but what they have a hard time with is R's and L's. They most definitely do NOT talk like Elmer Fudd, okay?