Lack of good storyline.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There are some movies so bad,that when you watch them on video or TV,you wonder, "Why did they bother with this?" "Why didn't they shelve it?" That's what I wondered when I caught this unoriginal,cliché' filled movie on late night TV.The first hour of this movie (including commercials) is truly a mess and completely unbelievable. While I can see the possibility of a man getting out of jail and going to his waiting bride, I could not buy how he and his friends end up helping their buddy "Hamlet" (Billy)in the bank and keeping their fellow towns-people hostage. Even more ridiculous is that because the guys are "nice",they end up basically helping them too.Dean Cain is really the only convincing male actor of the five (at least in the first 1/2). Although his coming out of the bank,with guns blazing is just plain stupid,along with the fact that he's wearing guns under his tuxedo in the first place.Andy Dick seems to only be able to play one character his whole career,a strange,nerdy kind of Matthew from "News Radio" boy-man. He really has no place here and his "tell off the wife over the phone" scene has been done way too many times in movies and TV shows,it's completely unoriginal.As is most of this blatant small town rip-off of "Dog Day Afternoon" (which they at least acknowledge their ripping off). We get a sheriff who's the father of wanted criminal "Hamlet". We also get the cliché' of the crowd cheering for "Hamlet" like he's some kind of Robin Hood folk hero! "I went to high school with that guy!" Says one of them,then they're chanting "Hamlet" over & over.So,we get the "you we're never there for me dad" plot,which has also been done in movies TV shows. Which made it hard to be sympathetic,but not just in that case,I couldn't sympathize with any of these characters. Even after finding out about their personal downfalls.The Vietnam vet is so much a cartoon that what could have been a great character is wasted. As are the acting talents of Drew Barrymore. Her presence in all this is spread quite thin. Then there's the expected FBI converging on the town,with the leader who just wants to blast the bad guys away. He and the sheriff are of course at at odds with each other and the other big city FBI men make fun of the small town's people. "They should be used to shot gun weddings here." (Referring to Barrymore and her boyfriend wanting to get married in the middle of a hostage situation.) I really only got into the movie when the more truthful and real elements came into play. When Andy is the first to get shot and then the FBI shooting up Cain and "Hamlet's" get away bus in a scene somewhat similar to the ending of Clint Eastwood's,"The Gauntlet". "Hamlet" and father make amends just before that and Dad let's his son get away. (Oh please!) Then the final two biggest rip off's of all. Barrymore and soon to be husband are given the stolen money by "Hamlet" and they fly of in the Vietnam Vet's helicopter and escape scott free. Shades of "D.B. Cooper"! Dean Cain and "Hamlet" then have one bullet each in their guns after the bus crashes and their all shot up. Just like the final scene in "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" they come running out together and Cain takes down the leader of the FBI,who he swore he'd take out. All the supposed "reasons" these characters have for letting themselves into this mess are contrived and flimsy at best. I would say if this movie had been made a long time ago and had there not been "Dog Day Afternoon",it might seem more plausible but even the intense last half,which did hold my interest,is not enough to like this movie.Four stars for the final,intense attempted getaway chase scene and "Hamlet's" very well spoken Shakespearian quotes,which do fit in here and the movie thankfully taking a needed turn into reality. Otheriwse,I'd never bother with "Best Men" again. (END)

My friend bought this movie out of the $5 bin at Walmart for a laugh. I was just expecting a stupid, mindless romantic comedy. What I found was a brilliant piece of work. The script is quite impressive. The story actually focuses on the "Best Men" like it says, not on the bride and groom. The whole film is chock full of lovable (and not so lovable) vibrant characters from nerdy little Teddy to Billy, the classical romantic hero, to Buzz the top-notch soldier with a heart of gold to Sol the lawyer you don't want to trust. Why had I never heard of this movie before?!? This definitely deserves a place on the shelf for anyone who loves comedy and good writing.

'Hamlet' has robbed several banks. He wears a ski mask and quotes Shakespeare, and he gives part of his money to worthy causes, making him a 'Robin Hood' as well. His next target: Independence, population 9,998. And this time he has 'merry men'.Jesse is getting out of prison on the day he is supposed to marry Hope. He and four friends who meet him are all wearing tuxedos. Billy, the son of Independence's sheriff, tells them to go on to the church because he has to stop by the bank and get some money. The robber takes hostages, and eventually the FBI shows up, led by Agent Hoover ('no relation'), who wants things done his way, doesn't care who he hurts, and has no consideration for Sheriff Phillips, who resents the FBI's intrusion into his town.The situation is not as dangerous as it sounds, since the robbers are not only bumbling idiots but also quite friendly, considering they are holding guns on people. But that doesn't matter: eventually what started as a silly farce turns quite serious and violent. Funny moments still happen, but the second half of the movie has a different tone. At the end, an exciting chase involving a bus, a helicopter and beautiful mountain scenery make things a little more exciting.One performance stands out from the rest: Brad Dourif as a 'disgruntled Vietnam veteran' who has a screw loose and knows how to help the robbers. Dean Cain also does a pretty good job--tough, serious but occasionally showing traces of the Clark Kent personality. The former green beret has some serious moments with the other vet, discussing how the army mistreated them both, one of two ways the movie is given substance. Also, Billy, who has had a falling out with his father, gets a chance to make things right, though I won't say whether he succeeds. The Hamlet, whose identity I won't reveal, is more Jim Varney than Laurence Olivier, though both were Shakespearean trained. Mitchell Whitfield shows a take-charge attitude as a Jewish lawyer who has his own solution to the robbers' problem.It was good to start with, it went downhill, but it recovered.POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOLLOW:Hope arrived at the bank very angry, believing Jesse was involved (I won't say whether he was). But negotiations resulted in the couple getting a priest to come perform the ceremony. This was funny because the priest announced the bank was 'the house of God' and that because God was present, guns should be put down.The chase scene included an escape by some of the persons inside through the roof of the bus into the helicopter. Great stunt work. The bus later wrecked and rolled over and over.DEFINITE SPOILER:The priest had a gun in his Bible and the ceremony was never performed. This was one place where the movie got particularly violent, though it was funny in a couple of ways: one character's reaction to being shot, and the Jewish lawyer's pulling a gun on the 'priest'--he had less reason to respect the man, after all.

it starting off okay, but it seemed like the film had an identity crisis for the most part. i suspect that they ran out of money when they were filming and just went with what they had. a big disappointment from tamara davis (although not as big as finding out that she directed a b.spears film - what did mike d think about that?)2/10