Clay Pigeons
September. 25,1998 RClay is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend, Earl kill himself because of the ongoing affair that Clay was having with the man's wife, Amanda. Feeling guilty, Clay now resists the widow when she presses him to continue with their sexual affairs. Clay inadvertently befriends a serial killer named Lester Long, who murders the widow in an attempt to "help" his "fishing buddy."
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Reviews
Absolutely Brilliant!
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
After he is discovered to be having weekly intercourse with a friend's wife, studly Joaquin Phoenix (as Clay) must dispose of the suicidal man's body, or be accused of the shooting. While trying to fend off the advances of his dead pal's sexpot widow, Mr. Phoenix meets burping cowboy drifter Vince Vaughn (as Lester) in the local watering hole. The two men bond over cigarettes and beer. Soon, they are fishing buddies.Then, prowling widow Georgina Cates (as Amanda) shoots estranged lover Phoenix' newest bed-pal pick-up, while the two are in the act; and, Phoenix must again dispose of a body. Next, Mr. Vaughn hooks up with Ms. Cates, and stabs her forty times. As it turns out, Vaughn is a serial killer, with over a dozen victims to his credit. Vaughn decides to frame Phoenix as the killer, as FBI agent Janeane Garofalo (as Shelby) tries to sort out the bloody mess.David Dobkin's "Clay Pigeons" offers surprisingly little sense, or suspense; however, it is an enjoyable effort. The cast helps a lot. Ms. Garofalo participates in some particularly effective scenes; check out her pizza ordering, and aborted barroom "pick-up" scene. Garofalo, Phoenix, and Vaughn are refreshingly assailable performers; and, this quality is pleasingly evident throughout the film. Vince Vieluf (as Barney) does "Deputy Fife" proud. Finally, Eric Edwards' photography is lovely.****** Clay Pigeons (9/15/98) David Dobkin ~ Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo
Starts off well but only goes downhill from there. Down, down, down... The plot is outrageously far-fetched, illogical, and full of numerous mind-blowing coincidences.How is it, for example, that a suicidal person, a murdering whore, and a mass murderer ALL happen to be involved with Phoenix? And this is just one of many bits of nonsense. Another one: how the hell did Vaughn know about all that happened?! Rather predictable, too; particularly in the last half-hour.Some silly details: Garofalo identifying killer through cigarette stub(!), deputy's helper falling asleep, and many others. (Can't be bothered to list them.) An insane bit of (mis)casting was to make Garofalo and FBI agent - and she has been on the force for 12 years!!! So when did she start?! At 18?! And 12 years doing what?? Shopping for generation X clothes? What's next, Drew Barrymore as the US President? Tom Cruise as a brilliant scientist? Matt Damon as a heterosexual? Vaughn, on the other hand, simply hams it up, as he always does. One of the few roles in which Phoenix isn't that bad.
Clay Pigeons has all the ingredients of a first rate film; Outstanding acting by Joaquin Phoenix (before he became a superstar) and Janeane Garafaolo (before she became a left wing stooge); Vince Vaughan in one of the great performances of his or any career; a leitmotif of outstanding country music that perfectly sets the mood throughout the picture; laugh out loud dialog; and, last but not least, gorgeous half-naked women.Alas, the movie's shortcomings, from start to finish, are too great to overlook. The incident upon which the whole plot depends is a suicide that the victim has made to look like a murder by Clay (Phoenix), who had been having an affair with the dead man's wife. Never mind that the victim's fingerprints are all over the gun - Clay panics and pushes the victim and his truck over a cliff rather than admit to the affair and report the truth. What makes this decision all the more ludicrous is that we later learn that the sheriff and Clay are old buds. When evidence from two murders that happen consequential to the initial incident point definitively to Clay as the killer, the sheriff still refuses to believe that he is guilty.Everything else about the story is pretty ridiculous, too. How did the murder weapon get into Clay's fireplace? And, wouldn't the murderer have placed it in a more obvious location, since his whole point was to set up Clay? How does Clay know where to find the murderer when he escapes from jail? How does Agent Shelby (Garafaolo) know where to go, and why would she go alone after a serial killer who's about twice her size? Why does Clay misdirect Shelby when she gets there? Why is the last bit of trickery, when Lester(Vaughan) thinks he's taking a ride to New Mexico with "Robert" necessary? And on and on.If you're looking for a night's worth of entertainment, you can do a lot worse than Clay Pigeons. The problem is, Clay Pigeons is a lot worse than it should have been.
This movie is unpredictable. So unpredictable that you don't know whether you are suppose to laugh or be scared. It is personally one of my favorite movie because you never get tired off watching it. Clay Pigeons stars Joquin Phonix who delivers his lines with such conviction you really believe that it is happening. You never know what kind of predicament Clay will get himself in or what kind of mess his friend Lester will get him in.Whether or not Lester played by Vince Vaghn is suppose to be a funny character, I don't know,but I find him hilarious especially his laugh. All together this movie is great, it is kind of weird, and the characters are memorable. This movie is really unique and very enjoyable.