Review of Made (2001) by Joshua H — 06 Aug 2008

Made may as well have been the direct sequel to Swingers, John Favreau and Vince Vaughn's critical success from a few years earlier. The characters can easily be connected and it certainly wouldn't be very hard to bridge the gap in between the movies explaining how they got to where they were. This resembles Swingers, a film I did not care for, so close that I feel it has virtually the same problems as its predecessor. However, I liked this one considerably more. It wasn't as funny as Swingers, but it was better in nearly every other way.

Bobby (Jon Favreau) is a guy that wants nothing more than to settle down with his stripper girlfriend (played by Famke Janssen). He's a wanna-be boxer whose partner and long time friend, Ricky (Vince Vaughn) is a wanna-be mobster. They have connections with Max (Peter Falk), a Los Angeles mob boss and are hired to travel to New York and perform a job for him. But Ricky doesn't know how to shut up and things become harder than they expected.

Just to start things out on a high note, I must say that the story, characters, and dialogue in Made are far better than what was in Swingers. That aforementioned film had virtually no story. It was about a guy trying to get over his ex-girlfriend and pick up another girl. Whoopty-do. This one actually has some heart to it and it kept me interested until the very end. And although the characters could indeed be linked from movie to movie, they are better handled in this one. In particular, Favreau's character is much more likable. In Swingers, he was a depressing, pathetic nobody who would rather sit in the corner and cry then go out and attempt a conversation. But in this movie, Favreau's character is a good person who is willing to do whatever it takes to take care of his girlfriend and her daughter. He just wants to make sure they have good lives and is less worried about himself. Ricky is 100 times more interesting than Favreau's character in Swingers.

Unfortunately, Vaughn's character is worse. You know that guy you hang around with who's a huge jerk and doesn't know it? You know how he thinks he's being cute, but most of the time he's really being an ass? Yeah, I hate that guy too. And that's precisely the guy that Vaughn plays in this movie. He may be the most irritating character I've seen in years. He grated on my nerves so bad that I was ready for somebody to just stab him dead and get it done. But therein lies the problem. He's supposed to be the comedic force of the film. Almost every whimsical line comes from his mouth, but most of them aren't funny because he himself is not a good person to be around. You wouldn't laugh at this person in real life, so why would you laugh at him on-screen?

The simple answer is you don't. It took 25 minutes for me to have my first laugh. And literally another 25 minutes for me to have my second. My third never came.

Made is not as funny as Swingers (although that really wasn't all that funny anyway). But that doesn't mean it is worse. On the contrary, it's actually better. As I said before, this movie has other facets of it that add up to a wholly more satisfying experience than Swingers. I may not have laughed as much in Made, but I was entertained to a greater extent thanks to the better story, dialogue, and characters (except in Vaughn's case). The film even concludes with a surprisingly touching moment that actually worked. I can't say I would recommend Swingers to somebody. Made is no masterpiece either, but it's got just the right amount of positive aspects to ensure some solid entertainment.