Review of Bruiser (2000) by Paul Z — 24 Jun 2012

I would love to say that the pros and cons (there are many of both) cancel each other out and leave us with a respectably average movie. But alas, they do not. Bruiser is a mess of a film. Our protagonist is an unlikable and one-dimensional sadsack. The "high-concept" plot ultimately fails on both a cerebral and an emotional level. The acting is mostly bad and the few good performances, such as Peter Stormare's, are hampered by amateurish dialogue and sloppy direction. Even the violence seems subdued and lazy.

Its not all bad though. It is after all a movie directed by George Romero and many of his trademark touches are present. Just like in his "Dead" films Romero demonstrates an ability to look into our mundane routines and find those dangerous and disturbing aspects of our lives that we like to keep hidden. This could've been a really good movie. It just makes me sad that it wasn't.