Review of Snatch (2000) by Wynne H — 10 Sep 2012

In the genre of Comedy, Snatch ranks up in the top five of my favorite films in the room. When Guy Richie is "on", there is no one who who can touch his outrageous comedic style and dry wit. An ensemble cast of not only the most brilliant stars in films today, Guy snags a handful of the most talented character actors along with a few stars to present one of the most hilarious casts since Stanley Cramer's 1963, Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, with such comedians as Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney and Jonathan Winters in his notorious gas station demolition scene.

Snatch is filmed in a hilarious non-linear fashion, following three or four subplots that end up colliding with each other in a tremendous bang!

After "snatching" a 92 carat diamond from a diamond house in Antwerp for his crime boss, Avi (Dennis Farina), in New York, Frankie Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro), travels to London where he sees cousin, Doug "the Head", who brokers stolen stones. Behind the scenes, a Russian member of the caper in Antwerp contacts his brother, Boris "the Blade", (Rade Serbedzija) to "snatch" the stone from Frankie while in London.

To hide the knowledge a Russian may be involved, Boris hires two Pawn Brokers, Sol (Lennie James) and Vinny (Robbie Gee), later joined by Tyrone (Ade), to rob a bookie to retrieve Frankie Four Fingers' case with the diamond in tow. These three crooks are comparable to a British, African American, Three Stooges. I still laugh until it hurts watching scenes of these three bumbling thieves stalking the bookie for a four-fingered man with a briefcase.

During all this hullabaloo, the central story follows a boxing promoter and his assistant, Turkish and Tommy, played by Jason Statham and Stephen Graham, respectively, who are trying to buy a new caravan for the business. Unfortunately for Tommy, he is sent to buy the caravan from a group of "Pikeys" (Irish Gypsies) led by Mickey (Brad Pitt), who besides mumbles in a slang Gypsy gibberish, just so happens to be the Gypsy Bare Knuckle Boxing Champion.

After an unexpected barn brawl, Turkish and Tommy fall prey to the local gangster, Brick Top (Alan Ford), as menacing as any Mafioso. His favorite hobby outside of crooked gambling appears to be torturing anyone who gets in his way. His detailed explanation of dead body disposal is a classic scene.

Without a doubt this film remains near the top of my list of all-time favorites. Snatch is a twisted crime comedy with more than a few surprises to tie all the stories together in the end.