Simply A Masterpiece

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I'm really not sure why people don't find this movie universally hilarious but perhaps i'm just a sucker for a bunch of losers finally coming around to doing the right thing kind of movie. With Nicolas Cage portraying 'the smart and good brother' doing everything he can to keep himself on the straight and narrow and also taking on the older brother mantle of trying to keep his younger brothers recently paroled for overcrowding and released to Cage's custody, the gleefully ne'er-do-well brothers portrayed by Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey, it is Cage's duty to keep these two on the straight and narrow as well. With Carvey's brother a helpless kleptomaniac and Lovitz' brother a semi-smooth talking schmuck who can always talk himself (and occasionally others) into anything ... and so they eventually, with the help of their 'sainted' mother (perfectly portrayed by Florence Stanley), talk Cage into breaking their parole, leaving the state to visit another con's estranged daughter. The purpose of the trip is really to rob a small town bank which, on a particular day, holds a Fort Knox like sum of cash.And so the story is set and while many people might guess the general path the film takes, it is a joyful and hilarious ride through their travails and eventual redemption in a town called Paradise. A tight and smooth-running script keeps the film humming along at a fine pace and ranks among my top ten xmas films ... though of course that might not include the standard films most would include ... i'm also a big fan of 'silent night, deadly night' ... so take it for what it's worth ... but this is still a very funny movie despite many of the negative reviews and the sub 6 star rating.

Well, I thought that the reviewers trashed this movie more than it really deserves. It wasn't the best of movies, but I did find that parts of it were funny. This movie is about two brothers who trick the third to go to a small town and rob a bank that is really easy to rob. Unfortunately they cannot get out of the town and end up giving all of the money back because they see the hearts behind the people.As I said, the movie isn't that great, but I do think that some people really watch too many movies and be a bit too critical about them. If one just relaxes, one can see the stupidity of this film. The whole comic concept is not watching police cars get smashed up, but rather watching a criminal walk across the road with the bank manager's wife, and then bring the entire café back because they can't leave them sitting there. It is just the unbelievable niceness and trust of the town. Unfortunately, later in the film it does start to lag in regards to the laughs, but I still think Dana Carvey's character is pretty cool - and more realistic as a kleptomaniac - so much as there is no order in what he steals, he simply steals because he can. The one character that did irritate me was Lovitt's.

I liked the cast with three very diverse lead characters played by macho Nicholas Cage, fatso Jon Lovitz and wimpy Dana Carvey. Two of the three actors did good jobs playing their guys, too. Unfortunately, the big star - Cage ("Bill Firpo") - gave a bad and abrasively loud performance. If you would have asked me in advance to pick one of the three who might bomb, I wouldn't have selected him.Lovitz, as "Dave Firpo," had the best lines in the film. As "Alvin Firpo," Carvey's kleptomania problems were funny at first but grew tiresome fairly fast. Sadly, the story wasn't that good, either, although it should have been. This premise about crooks being unable to get out of town due to various weird situations, in here it's mainly a snowstorm.If you want a better movie about being trapped somewhere and trying to escape with the loot, watch Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid in "Quick Change." That's a heckuva lot funnier film.

One of the funniest lines ever and delivered by Florence Stanley as only she could do it.This is definitely on the list of my top 10 favorite movies. Carvey, Lovitz and Cage have great chemistry as brothers. Dana was hilarious as a klepto, stealing gingerbread men decorations off the bank Christmas tree and then going for the pens. Lovitz as the brother who tries to be sneaky and manipulative but he's actually a few bricks shy of a full load. Nick Cage is actually the level-headed brother who is more like his siblings than he cares to admit.And for one of the reviewers looking for this movie on DVD try the website www.half.com. Its part of E-bay and where I ordered my DVD copy.