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Avg. Rating: 3
Woops
I like to think of myself as a fair appraiser of movies. I try to take movies as they are when giving to, or taking from, their merit, and not what I think they should have been. In all fairness, you can't judge a movie like The Shawshank Redemption on its comedic intent rather than dramatic effect anymore than you can judge Thomas The Tank Engine based on how many dismemberments and T&A shots there were. It's not fair to the film.
However, upon watching Stephen Dorff's Botched, I think I am being fair when I say that this was a horrible script surrounded by a great cast and intense execution. What does that really mean? I'm not too sure, but I'll sure as hell try to explain it.
Botched, directed by newcomer Kit Ryan and written by Derek Boyle, Eamon Friel, and Raymond Friel, introduces us to Ritchie Donovan, a professional thief with a streak of bad luck(played by Stephen Dorff of SFW and Blade fame). Our first contact with Ritchie displays a twice-bumbled jewel heist, of which Ritchie's employer, probable Russian mob boss Mr. Groznyi, is quite unhappy with. To redeem himself, Ritchie is given one last job, to steal a cross from a family living on the penthouse floor of a building in Moscow. With the help of brothers Peter and Yuri, the job goes bad, and the three felons are caught on the 13th floor(inferred) of the building with a group of apparently innocent bystanders, a security guard, and some Dungeons & Dragons fanatic with a real sword.
Hilarity ensues. Or at least is supposed to.
I will be fair: this film never asks to be taken seriously. There are a few memorable scenes that make sure we remember this, one which includes the use of disco lights and music, another at the end that almost makes the whole movie worthwhile. Geoff Bell, Jamie Foreman, and Hugh O'Conor all put on excellent comedic performances when they are needed, even if it is to smooth the edges of Stephen Dorff, who has a knack for turning anything remotely funny into melancholy drama. Not that that's always a bad thing, but in this movie, it doesn't work all that well. This movie has no serious intent, Stephen, so there is no need to try to make this an Oscar-worthy performance.
The problem with this movie is incoherence mixed with NOT ENOUGH FUNNY. Incoherent is only as funny as the running gag jokes that give the movie its script. Of course, sometimes too much funny incoherence can be bad(see Scary Movie 2-4, Superhero Movie, Meet The Spartans, Disaster Movie for references). Botched doesn't give us enough funny, and with a feeble script limping along, it just doesn't make the cut. Sure, there's some nice, gruesome gore in the film, but even those moments of horror are few and far between, which makes it a tough sell when going up against movies like Frontier(s) and Otis
Wrong Floor...
A thief named Ritchie (Stephen Dorff) must rob an exclusive, high-rise penthouse in order to pay back a debt. Unfortunately, two things have gone horribly wrong. Thing #1- Ritchie's two accomplices are absolute imbeciles. Thing #2- They wind up being trapped on a secret floor of the building, hunted by a decapitating, disemboweling maniac! BOTCHED is an intentionally goofy splatter epic in the vein of DEAD ALIVE, SEAN OF THE DEAD, OTIS, etc. w/ plenty of laughs and sloshing intestines. So, if you prefer your humor wet, this one should quench that thirst... P.S.- Watch for Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers) in a small role as a crimelord...
The title says it all
The film begins with an almost Fargo-like series of mis-steps and mishaps that actually grab your interest. Unfortunately, that's as good as it gets. The joke, if you get it, begins with a Mr. Grozny (a fish-out-of-water Sean Pertwee...wouldn't Dr. Who just turn in his grave?) inviting the idiot who blew his last job to steal some "family heirlooms" in the penthouse suite of some Moscow high-rise. What they showed could well have been the former Lubyanka.
Recruiting the aid of a couple of Russian morons, probably too closely related, the theft goes from bad to worse, as does the film. Stupidity abounds with the cast slowly being slaughtered by some whirling dervish and so on.
Comedy and horror really don't mix too well and you have to be careful about your mix. Severance got it absolutely right and The Cottage comes in a close second. Here, it's like oil and water, one or the other.
This wretched experience brings the Keystone Kops to a new level of sophistication.
For what it's worth, "grozny" (pronounced "grozh-nyee") means "terrible." As in "Ivan the Terrible."
Hilarious dark comedy
This one won't appeal to everyone. If you liked Black Sheep you'll probably appreciate this film. It starts off serious, like a crime horror flick but then transitions to a spoof like Shaun of the Dead. It is funny and easily outdoes most "comedy" movies churned out today but it's not you're typical Hollyweird movie and that's a very good thing.
botched is just that....botched
Yes I'm going to be the square peg in the round hole.Stephen Dorf was tolerable but the rest...STINKO!Its bloody but stupid.How dare they put this in the same ball field as Shaun Of The Dead.At least Shaun was funny this....not!I like what the other writer said about being drunk to find this amuzing....You'll have 2 hangovers while engaging this rubbish.....MENTAL!
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