Review of Very Bad Things (1998) by Tyler M — 21 Dec 2007

It's bad... Very, very bad.

The title really says it all... and what it says is a severe understatement.

The Story: When a prostitute is accidentally killed at a bachelor party, the groom and groomsmen decide to cover it up, and trouble ensues. It's pretty much just one person getting killed after another, as each member of the men become more unstable and more likely to expose the truth. It's got a lot of dark comedy, and when I say dark comedy, I mean DARK COMEDY. It's also got A LOT of violence, this one isn't for the squeamish. Add a constant sense of chaos to the mix and you've got what I like to call, an acquired taste. There's hardly ever a quiet moment here as someone is always yelling at someone else for some reason or other. If you're a fan of the ultra violence and dark humor, you might find something of interest here, but if you're not than you should really stay away... Far far away.

The Cast: Jon Favreau, Leland Orser, Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern... Yeah, I know, it's a lot of characters so bear with me here... Jon Favreau is Kyle Fisher, the groom. All he wants to do is keep his fiance happy, and get married on time. He's a pretty shallow character as most of them are, and you won't feel the greatest connection with him, but it's not really the kind of film where you're looking for relatable characters, or at least not expecting them. It's a good performance, but I'd have to say, it's hardly his best. Cameron Diaz is Laura Garrity, the bride to be. She's a bitch, she only thinks of herself, and only wants to get married, and damn it, she's going to get married even if it kills someone. She's a pretty outlandish character, in that she's so extreme and you won't feel much more than contempt for her. Once again, a good performance, but far from her best. Daniel Stern is Adam Berkow, an uptight father of two. The cover up of the dead prostitute weighs heavy on his mind and drives him insane with paranoia. A good performance, and possibly his best. But that's not saying much is it? Jeremy Piven is Michael Berkow, Adams brother, the one responsible for the death of the prostitute. He's not a likeable character in the least, but he's got more depth to him than any of the others. A decent performance that makes the movie interesting to say the least. Leland Orser is Charles Moore, what's there to say about him? I don't know. He's an underused character that adds little to nothing to the film. The few parts he does add are good, but not good enough to remember. Don't expect much of a performance, not because he's bad, but because he's just not written in. Christian Slater is Robert Boyd, he's the man behind the plan to hide all murders and deaths related to the prostitute fiasco. His character is probably the most entertaining here, as he always plays a good sinister villain. A good performance, but you might be more entertained by Heathers. Blame the actors or blame the script, either way you go, this is mediocrity running amuck.

One to Five Scale: 3.

Like I said before, it's an acquired taste... Seriously, people getting ran over, bitten, cut in half, impaled, bludgeoned, shot, ejected from cars, stabbed... It's a lot of violence, and it's almost all in the name of bad humor. The darkest of the dark comedies.

Tyler.