So, given that I did another film that was released to VOD before it was to hit theaters (November Criminals), starring Ansel Elgort, when I learned this Ansel Elgort feature was coming to online streaming before theaters, I figure I might as well do it. Though, this has a legitimate reason that it is being dumped. This was going to be released last year, but was shelved because.... Kevin Spacey plays a fairly large role in the film. I'll be upfront with this: if you feel uncomfortable watching a film with Kevin Spacey, don't watch this at all. I will not discuss his role except in the synopsis. That said, I understand a little why the distribution company Vertical Entertainment decided to ultimately release this. They couldn't really do a All the Money in the World, and have Spacey removed entirely. He plays a large role in the story, and by most accounts, they didn't have the budget to anyway. At the same time, as Vertical stated upon announcing the film's release, they didn't want the hard work of the rest of the cast and crew to go to waste.While I (as you will read) ultimately didn't care for the final product, I can understand that, since film is a collaborative process, and the other hardworking members of the cast and crew deserved the chance to see their own work on the film released, despite the actions of Spacey tainting most of it. Still, once again, Kevin Spacey is in this, and if you don't want to watch him, I recommend not watching it. Even you don't, do not watch this.
Based on a real-life incident (as many of these films are), in 80's Beverly Hills, Dean Kearny (Taron Egerton) and Joe Hunt (Ansel Elgort), friends since their school days, have grown dissatisfied with their position in comparison to their richer friends, including Charlie Bottom (Thomas Cocquerel) and the Biltmore brothers (Jeremy Irvine and Ryan Rottman), so decide (with little explanation as to how they came to this conclusion) to do get-rich quick scheme involving gold investment. With the help of Ron Levin (Kevin Spacey), they have some minor initial success, which enables their wealthy associates to also invest. While Gold goes down, thus causing them to lose money, Hunt and Kearny decides to pretend that they were continuing to gain money, whilst using the money from previous investors to pay new investors. Whilst Levin seems to help them out at first, they find that success on these grounds is tenuous.
A couple minor good stuff in this. Taron Egerton has a flawless American accent, and his performance is probably the best in the film, easily making him an ambiguous character whose motives and backstory are not clear. Ansel Elgort is at least trying, and he's better here than he was in November Criminals. Emma Roberts (oh, yeah, she's in here too) does fine as Elgort's love interest, though she isn't given enough to work with. Judd Nelson as Elgort's father also has some standout scenes.
I've made it clear before that one of my least favorite genres is the "Criminal American Dream". I should probably call it by what it is, the "Scorsese knock-off". I don't hate all movies that utilize it, nor am I inherently against the genre, but my main problem is how homogeneous these films tend to be. They all have the same style, they basically have the same characters, and basically have the same plots, beat for beat. Ultimately, you eventually can just predict the entire plot of one of these just based on how they frame the story and what the plot is about. This is like if they took the essence of these films and made another one based solely on it. Let's see it is 1.) Based on a true story, 2.) Stars one or two people dissatisfied with their lack of wealth and seek to rectify it, 3.) Features their success in some faulty, non-legal manner, 4.) Sees tensions rise, 5.) features a tragedy that ultimately precludes their decline, and 6.) set in the 80's. It even has a voice-over. That is my main problem, really. This is just another Scorsese Knock-off, atop a bunch of other Scorsese knock-offs that just aren't fresh and original anymore. Not helping is the confusing plot, which doesn't make what the characters are doing clear, so their dealings just come off confusing and convoluted (I had to look up later what had actually happened to make sense of it.)
This really isn't worth watching. Whether Kevin Spacey was in this or not, it wouldn't be a film that would really be entertaining unless you've never seen Goodfellas, Casino, Lord of War, Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, War Dogs, or American Made. If, regardless of its unoriginality, you enjoy this genre, than maybe you'd find some entertainment in this, but it doesn't add anything to the genre, nor does anything another example hasn't already done. Just skip this, whether on VOD or when it comes out in theaters next month.
(If you're curious on the remake tag, there was technically a 1989 TV film, starring Judd Nelson in the Joe Hunt role, which is why he is here incidentally, so this is technically a remake.)
Based on a real-life incident (as many of these films are), in 80's Beverly Hills, Dean Kearny (Taron Egerton) and Joe Hunt (Ansel Elgort), friends since their school days, have grown dissatisfied with their position in comparison to their richer friends, including Charlie Bottom (Thomas Cocquerel) and the Biltmore brothers (Jeremy Irvine and Ryan Rottman), so decide (with little explanation as to how they came to this conclusion) to do get-rich quick scheme involving gold investment. With the help of Ron Levin (Kevin Spacey), they have some minor initial success, which enables their wealthy associates to also invest. While Gold goes down, thus causing them to lose money, Hunt and Kearny decides to pretend that they were continuing to gain money, whilst using the money from previous investors to pay new investors. Whilst Levin seems to help them out at first, they find that success on these grounds is tenuous.
A couple minor good stuff in this. Taron Egerton has a flawless American accent, and his performance is probably the best in the film, easily making him an ambiguous character whose motives and backstory are not clear. Ansel Elgort is at least trying, and he's better here than he was in November Criminals. Emma Roberts (oh, yeah, she's in here too) does fine as Elgort's love interest, though she isn't given enough to work with. Judd Nelson as Elgort's father also has some standout scenes.
I've made it clear before that one of my least favorite genres is the "Criminal American Dream". I should probably call it by what it is, the "Scorsese knock-off". I don't hate all movies that utilize it, nor am I inherently against the genre, but my main problem is how homogeneous these films tend to be. They all have the same style, they basically have the same characters, and basically have the same plots, beat for beat. Ultimately, you eventually can just predict the entire plot of one of these just based on how they frame the story and what the plot is about. This is like if they took the essence of these films and made another one based solely on it. Let's see it is 1.) Based on a true story, 2.) Stars one or two people dissatisfied with their lack of wealth and seek to rectify it, 3.) Features their success in some faulty, non-legal manner, 4.) Sees tensions rise, 5.) features a tragedy that ultimately precludes their decline, and 6.) set in the 80's. It even has a voice-over. That is my main problem, really. This is just another Scorsese Knock-off, atop a bunch of other Scorsese knock-offs that just aren't fresh and original anymore. Not helping is the confusing plot, which doesn't make what the characters are doing clear, so their dealings just come off confusing and convoluted (I had to look up later what had actually happened to make sense of it.)
This really isn't worth watching. Whether Kevin Spacey was in this or not, it wouldn't be a film that would really be entertaining unless you've never seen Goodfellas, Casino, Lord of War, Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, War Dogs, or American Made. If, regardless of its unoriginality, you enjoy this genre, than maybe you'd find some entertainment in this, but it doesn't add anything to the genre, nor does anything another example hasn't already done. Just skip this, whether on VOD or when it comes out in theaters next month.
(If you're curious on the remake tag, there was technically a 1989 TV film, starring Judd Nelson in the Joe Hunt role, which is why he is here incidentally, so this is technically a remake.)
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