Review of Violet & Daisy (2011) by Chris W — 17 Mar 2014

This was written and directed by Geoffrey S. Fletcher, who won an Oscar for his script for Precious.

I'm kinda thinking that maybe the Academy should take his statue back.

This tale of two gum chewing, gun toting teenage teeny bopper assassins should have been a fun romp, and yeah, some of it is kinda fun and enjoyable, but overall, it's just a weird, uneven mess. That, and only one of the two leads is an actual teenager (just barely, since she's 19), while the other is freakin' 32.

Anyways, Violet and Daisy, when not performing hits, are die hard fans of pop superstar Barbie SUnday, and, when they find out that her upcoming concert is cancelled, they get upset, but decide to drown their sorrows by buying the latest items from her clothing line. Only problem is, they're short on cash, so they take on what should be a quick and easy routine hit, only to end up in a situation that's far more complicated than it first appears.

This one had a lot of potential. It could have basically been a far more girly and childlike (but still awesome) take on what a standalone Hit-Girl film might be like. Instead, it's, as I mentioned, a really uneven mess. It's also fairly dull, dumb, and honestly, a tad boring. At least it's only 88 mins.

Even then, I found it a chore to sit through. The film just doesn't really know what it is, and it feels like it can decide on if it should veer more towards surreal camp, or if it should be a tad more serious. It attempts to do all of this, and yeah, it falls flat.

It also comes off as oddly dated and out of place, like it should have been made circa 1995 instead of 2013. Yeah, it's trying to be 'cool' in that post-Pulp Fiction kind of vein.

It doesn't work too well in that regard either. Also, I think ALexis Bledel's attempts to act like a giddy teen make her seem kinda not right in the head. Both she and Ronan struggle to nail down the varying facets of their characters. But maybe it's not their fault. Maybe they're trying their best, and it's Fletcher who screwed up as the writer.

Yeah, I really didn't like this, and I'm disappointed because I really wanted to. WHat keeps me from hating it more are two things. 1. The appearance of James Gandolfini as the target of the girls's latest hit, and the appearance of John Ventimiglia, who, like Gandolfini, is a Sopranos Alum. If the actor's name doesn't ring a bell, he played Artie Bucco, owner of (Nuovo) Vesuvio's. Yeah, not even an all too brief appearance by Danny Trejo can help this out too much. And even with Gandolfini, I felt like his performance was too good for this, and would have been better suited to a stronger film.

I will say that the cinematography is decent, and, in theory, so is the film's concept.

It's just a shame that it's execution fails to hit the mark.