Oh, those lovable Mafia hitmen. How do they learn to be so cold-hearted and efficient? For those not necessarily dying to find out the answer comes the sporadically witty and involving "Angel's Dance" starring James Belushi and Kyle Chandler as master and student of the fine art of covert assassination.
Unveiled at the Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival and scheduled to appear on HBO this year, writer-director David L. Corley's dark comedy has its share of memorable lines, and Belushi has a ball playing a philosophical/spiritual killing machine, but the charge of glamorizing violence and trivializing matters of life and death could made.
A more mundane problem, in terms of the story's dynamics, is the utter predictability of the outcome about halfway through the picture. The central gambit of this underworld shoot-'em-up is that the randomly chosen victim of a hitman-in-training survives long enough to turn the tables on her adversaries.
Tony Chandler) is ordered by Chicago mob kingpin Uncle Vinnie (Jon Polito) to Los Angeles, where the up-and-coming family man is to receive instruction from the legendary Rosellini (Belushi). "Nothing is as it seems", is the first pithy rule Tony learns when Rosellini first appears to be a slob limo driver with a motormouth.
After preliminary lessons in guns and knives, Rosellini moves on to the main event -- target practice. "If you can whack an innocent victim, you can whack anybody" is the idea, and not-altogether-heartless Tony goes along after minor protestations. Alas, they pick a half-mad embalmer named Angel Chaste (Sheryl Lee) and get far more complications than they expect.
"One to the head; one to the heart." Rosellini, who's comfortable with his violent career because he believes in reincarnation, makes it sound so easy. While there are far too many scenes reveling in guns and their various good and bad qualities for killing people, even worse the film's morals overall are nonexistent. Consider that once Angel has been stalked and shot at, she outfits herself with body armor, a new look and goes after the guys with her own armaments.
In the minor war that climaxes the film, we're supposed to cheer her wasting numerous reinforcements sent from Chicago and -- maybe it's supposed to be OK because she's a fruitcake -- cheerfully accept that she has found her "path" in life.
"Detach yourself from the results" is another trick of the kill-and-kill-often trade, but for unamused viewers that might not be so easy.
ANGEL'S DANCE
Promark Entertainment Group
VIDEAL GmbH
Credits: Writer-director: David L. Corley; Producer: David Bixler; Executive producer: Jon Kramer; Director of photography: Michael G. Wojciechowski; Production designer: Patti Podesta; Editor: Sean Albertson; Costume designer: Bonnie Stauch; Music: Tim Truman; Casting: Rick Montgomery, Joe Luis Garcia. Cast: Rosellini: James Belushi; Tony: Kyle Chandler; Angel: Sheryl Lee; Uncle Vinnie: Jon Polito; Nick: Frank John Hughes; Police Detective: Ned Bellamy. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 102 minutes.
Unveiled at the Nortel Palm Springs International Film Festival and scheduled to appear on HBO this year, writer-director David L. Corley's dark comedy has its share of memorable lines, and Belushi has a ball playing a philosophical/spiritual killing machine, but the charge of glamorizing violence and trivializing matters of life and death could made.
A more mundane problem, in terms of the story's dynamics, is the utter predictability of the outcome about halfway through the picture. The central gambit of this underworld shoot-'em-up is that the randomly chosen victim of a hitman-in-training survives long enough to turn the tables on her adversaries.
Tony Chandler) is ordered by Chicago mob kingpin Uncle Vinnie (Jon Polito) to Los Angeles, where the up-and-coming family man is to receive instruction from the legendary Rosellini (Belushi). "Nothing is as it seems", is the first pithy rule Tony learns when Rosellini first appears to be a slob limo driver with a motormouth.
After preliminary lessons in guns and knives, Rosellini moves on to the main event -- target practice. "If you can whack an innocent victim, you can whack anybody" is the idea, and not-altogether-heartless Tony goes along after minor protestations. Alas, they pick a half-mad embalmer named Angel Chaste (Sheryl Lee) and get far more complications than they expect.
"One to the head; one to the heart." Rosellini, who's comfortable with his violent career because he believes in reincarnation, makes it sound so easy. While there are far too many scenes reveling in guns and their various good and bad qualities for killing people, even worse the film's morals overall are nonexistent. Consider that once Angel has been stalked and shot at, she outfits herself with body armor, a new look and goes after the guys with her own armaments.
In the minor war that climaxes the film, we're supposed to cheer her wasting numerous reinforcements sent from Chicago and -- maybe it's supposed to be OK because she's a fruitcake -- cheerfully accept that she has found her "path" in life.
"Detach yourself from the results" is another trick of the kill-and-kill-often trade, but for unamused viewers that might not be so easy.
ANGEL'S DANCE
Promark Entertainment Group
VIDEAL GmbH
Credits: Writer-director: David L. Corley; Producer: David Bixler; Executive producer: Jon Kramer; Director of photography: Michael G. Wojciechowski; Production designer: Patti Podesta; Editor: Sean Albertson; Costume designer: Bonnie Stauch; Music: Tim Truman; Casting: Rick Montgomery, Joe Luis Garcia. Cast: Rosellini: James Belushi; Tony: Kyle Chandler; Angel: Sheryl Lee; Uncle Vinnie: Jon Polito; Nick: Frank John Hughes; Police Detective: Ned Bellamy. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 102 minutes.
- 4/13/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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