Review of Checking Out (2006) by Hannah M — 10 Jun 2007

Based on a play, feels like a play. That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned, but that means it moves slowly and there's far more sitting around and talking than exciting car chases (although, come to think of it, there's a kind of car chase too). A few of the characters are a little too self-consciously onstagelike, and the production quality is slightly amateurish. However, the script is intelligent, funny, and hits all the right notes without being either too morbid or too sappy. Peter Falk was fantastic, creating his own unique character. The ending veered dangerously close to being trite, but managed to avoid that. All in all, a very satisfying little movie you've probably never seen.

(Also, although they have the cast list correct on this site, the cover picture is not. That's from the 1989 film of the same title.).