Stand Up Guys: crime with a sense of
humor. With Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, this 95
minute film is just a fun experience. Movie opens with Val, played by
Pacino, being released from prison after serving a term of 28 years. Doc,
played by Walken, is waiting outside the prison for Val, his former crime
partner. Hirsh, played by Arkin, doesn’t appear until about halfway
through the movie. Hirsh was the driver for the stick up team of Val and
Doc. The three of them play off each other
marvelously. Walken and Pacino by themselves are great, and the Arkin character just brings it to a real
old timers buddy movie with Walken being the youngster at 69. There is a bit of awkwardness to the opening sequences but
given the storyline of not having seen each other for over two decades, it’s
okay. A basic theme of the film is the line repeated among Val, Doc and Hirsh: either
you can raise hell or chew gum. No surprise as to the choice
and interesting things happen in the course of raising hell. The
events that occur are all within a 24 hour time period. I don’t want
to spoil the fun by describing what occurs but the best parts flow after Val
overindulges in Viagra after a failed sex adventure. The nurse at
the hospital is Hirsch’s daughter. This is only one of the
contrivances but all is done with a sense of humor. The movie location is
not specified: it is a Northern city east of the Mississippi. The movie
is directed by Fisher Stevens and the screenplay is by
Noah Haidle. No serious message presented except that you control
what you make of your life and even when you’ve aged, there are new experiences
to be had. My sentence is more serious than anything that appears on
screen. These are good guys who have done bad things but with honor
within the group. For the audience, it is a privilege to see the continuing
skill of Pacino, who is 72, along with Arkin at 78, plus Walken. The
violent scenes are quite brief and incidental
to telling an interesting story.
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