Entertainment
Raunchy, R-Rated 90s Crime Comedy Proves Why Hiding A Body Should Be Left To The Pros
By Robert Scucci
| Published
When Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez’s names are brought up, nobody will blame you if you immediately think about Hot Shots! and The Mighty Ducks. But when the brothers teamed up for a crime comedy like 1990’s Men at Work, it’s easy to see why they were such popular comedic actors during the height of their careers. Men at Work benefits from its stars’ chemistry because, while they’re not portraying brothers on screen, they have the same kind of reluctant best friend energy siblings have, allowing every heightened situation they find themselves in to come off as grounded and believable, which is no easy feat when you learn just how stupid their situation is.
Men at Work wasn’t a huge financial success upon its initial release, earning $16.2 million at the box office against its reported production budget of $9 million. And even today, it’s far from a critical darling, presently boasting a 30 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and only a slightly better 44 percent audience score on the Popcornmeter. Like most crime comedies of this era, however, it holds up shockingly well because of how hard it sells its premise.
My running theory is that there were so many movies like this coming out at the same time that critics simply became jaded, and their fatigue can be seen in the numbers. But just like Fatal Instinct and National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1 (another Emilio Estevez banger), you just need to be built for movies like Men at Work. Whether you are or not is entirely up to you, but if you’re going in blind and love a solid crime comedy, you really can’t go wrong here.
Two Garbage Men, A Dead Body, And A Toxic Waste Conspiracy
Men at Work centers on garbagemen Carl Taylor (Charlie Sheen) and James St. James (Emilio Estevez). Day to day, their lives are pretty simple. They collect garbage, make a total mess by throwing trash barrels all over the place, and recklessly drive their truck. Their behavior is so unprofessional that they’re placed on probation, forcing them to work under the observation of Louis Fedders (Keith David), their boss’s brother-in-law.
One day after work, Carl and James are hanging out at the former’s apartment when they feast their eyes on Susan Wilkins (Leslie Hope), the woman who lives in the apartment across the way who Carl clearly has the hots for. They witness her get into an altercation with the man in her apartment, which prompts Carl to shoot him in the butt with a pellet gun. The whole story turns into a convoluted murder plot as Carl and James hide beneath the window laughing when two men enter Susan’s apartment, strangle the man, drag his body out of the building, stuff the body into a toxic waste drum, and haphazardly place the drum into the trunk of their car.
The body, which is revealed to belong to City Councilman and mayoral candidate Jack Berger (Darrell Larson), is discovered the next day by Carl and James while running their route with Louis because the drum rolled out of the hitmen’s car and straight into a garbage pile sitting by the curb. Fortunately, Louis, who hates cops, is quick to point out that they didn’t actually kill the man with a pellet gun, but also brings up the fact that nobody knows this guy is missing yet, and they have to do something with the body before anybody finds out.
While figuring out their next steps and waiting for the whole situation to blow over, they keep Jack’s body at Carl’s place, concealing his true identity with a Richard Nixon mask. It seems like a solid plan until a pizza man (Dean Cameron) shows up, making him a witness and prompting the gang to kidnap him so they don’t get thrown under the bus for a murder they didn’t commit.
Complicating matters further are hitmen Biff (Hawk Wolinski) and Mario (John Lavachielli), who are scrambling to find the politician’s body after failing to properly dispose of it, and officer Mike (John Putch), who is pretty much harmless but, for some reason, has always had it out for Carl and James.
Sibling Energy Steals The Show
On paper, Men at Work is a near-perfect comedy of errors, which is then elevated by the chemistry between Sheen and Estevez. The entire situation Carl and James find themselves in is so out to lunch that you need two charismatic leads to actually sell it, which they do in spades. The situational humor alone is enough to keep your eyes glued to the screen, waiting for the next big mishap, but it’s the stolen glances between Carl and James that add a whole new layer of charm to the equation. It feels like two brothers way in over their heads after getting caught in the middle of an assassination plot, when all they want to do is go to work, come home, crack open a few brews, and watch some TV.
As Men at Work barrels into its second and third acts, we get a tight story about political corruption, and how working class men with no clue how much trouble they’re getting into can rise to the occasion and become heroes in their own right, when all they really want to do at the end of the day is go back to their slacker lifestyle and forget any of this ever happened.
If you’re looking for a solid, forgotten comedy of errors that may have been railed on a little too hard by the critics when it was first making its rounds, you can stream Men at Work for free on Tubi as of this writing.
Entertainment
Charlize Theron's Forgotten R-Rated Thriller Gets Second Life On Streaming
By Jason Collins
| Published
Streaming platforms have become the perfect place for forgotten box office disappointments to find a second chance, introducing overlooked films to audiences who may have missed them the first time around. More than two decades after its theatrical failure, Charlize Theron‘s 2002 thriller Trapped remains a prime example of how an underperforming release can still generate renewed interest years later.
Charlize Theron In Trapped
For the uninitiated, Trapped is a 2002 crime thriller based on Greg Iles’ bestselling novel 24 Hours. The film follows a wealthy couple whose young daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless criminal and his wife as part of an elaborate ransom scheme, forcing them into a desperate fight to save her.
Directed by Luis Mandoki, the film stars Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Fanning, and Pruitt Taylor Vince.
A Critical And Commercial Failure Upon Release
It’s hard to pinpoint what sparked renewed interest in Trapped, especially considering the film was anything but a success when it hit theaters in 2002.
Despite an ensemble cast led by Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon, Trapped was a box office disappointment, earning just $13 million worldwide against an estimated $30 million production budget.
The critical response wasn’t much better. Trapped currently holds a 17% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 48% audience score. Many critics dismissed Trapped as a manipulative thriller, arguing that its constant attempts to raise the stakes felt manufactured rather than genuinely suspenseful.
Despite its disappointing box office returns and critical reception, Trapped received multiple home video releases over the years, largely due to the enduring popularity of its cast.
One Of Many Overlooked Thrillers
It’s somewhat surprising that Trapped managed to resurface at all.
The early 2000s were overflowing with mid-budget thrillers, back when studios routinely greenlit standalone crime dramas instead of pouring resources into blockbuster franchises. With so many similar releases competing for attention, it would have been easy for Trapped to disappear into obscurity.
Instead, it proved that forgotten movies sometimes have a way of washing back ashore, where they’re promptly poked with sticks by curious children.
Didn’t Impact Charlize Theron’s Career
For years, Trapped was overshadowed by more successful crime thrillers from the era, including Along Came a Spider and Enough. Yet, like many overlooked studio releases from the early 2000s, it has gradually found a new audience willing to revisit and reevaluate it.
Fortunately, the film’s disappointing performance had little impact on the careers of Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon. Both went on to star in numerous high-profile projects, proving that one box office flop was hardly enough to slow either actor’s momentum.
Though Trapped was largely forgotten after its disappointing theatrical run, it remains an interesting snapshot of the wave of mid-budget crime thrillers that defined the early 2000s. For fans of the genre, it’s a worthwhile curiosity that’s easier to appreciate today than it was upon release.
As of this writing, Trapped is streaming for free on Pluto TV, and available to rent or purchase on-demand through YouTube, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango.
Entertainment
New TV Show Trailer Proves Blade Runner Should Be Lost In Time, Like Tears In The Rain
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Blade Runner 2049 was a beautiful, crowd-pleasing return to the bleakly beautiful world created by Ridley Scott in the first film. With solid performances, dazzling visuals, and a mind-bending story, that sequel felt like the end of a very long, very good story. Personally, I felt that the franchise was over and that it went out on a high note. Imagine my surprise, then, to learn that the film was getting a follow-up TV show on Prime Video, complete with Scott executive producing. What will this show be about, I wondered, and will it be a worthy successor to what came before?
Well, good news, bad news, as a new trailer answers one of those questions.
Somehow, Blade Runner Returned
Blade Runner 2099 is a TV show that revolves around two characters. One is Cora (played by Hunter Schafer), a fugitive who hopes she can stop running by impersonating a blade runner. The other is a dying replicant (played by Michelle Yeoh). In this brave new world, humanity lost a war against replicants; those replicants now rule society, forcing humans to become second-class citizens. Now, our two main characters must reluctantly team up to track down a runaway whose secret knowledge could completely unravel a society that has only recently put itself back together.
Don’t expect all of that information in this trailer…at least, not directly. For our first real look at Blade Runner 2099, Prime Video has taken the term “teaser” quite literally, and this trailer is more about dramatic vibes than exposition. As for the vibes, they are decidedly mixed. There are some cool exterior shots of flying cars and giant buildings that look quite beautiful, and a bright, red-drenched sequence where unknown characters are watching a ship launch into the air. That brief, colorful glimpse is momentarily breathtaking. Unfortunately, we are then plunged back into a grim, grimy world that looks oh-so-forgettably generic.
It’s Michelle, Yo!
While the Blade Runner 2099 teaser trailer shows us a hodgepodge medley of action scenes and brooding character scenes (far more of the latter), we get narration from Schafer’s character. She discusses humans losing a war to the replicants and replicants reducing humanity to “nothing.” This is followed by ominous narration from Yeoh’s character about how the “old world” is trying to come back and how “humans want what was taken from them.” Unfortunately, those pesky meatbags haven’t learned what the replicants have been trying to teach them: “It’s our time now.”
Conceptually, the story behind Blade Runner 2099 is interesting. I find myself naturally intrigued about how this world works; like, how does everyone see blade runners now that replicants are running the show? What is the truth that the runaway knows, and how does that truth threaten all of society? Also, why is our human protagonist interested in preserving a status quo where powerful robots treat her like sh*t? Good job, trailer: this teaser filled me with questions that will almost certainly get me to watch the show.
Time To Die, Blade Runner
Aside from my need to answer those questions, though, most of this Blade Runner 2099 teaser trailer is just off-putting. Not telling us anything about the main characters is a mistake; it’s hard for viewers to tell why these characters would ever work together, especially with no mention of teaming up to find the runaway. On a deeper level, the fact that we know nothing about these characters makes it hard to care about what happens to them. Honestly, everything that’s good or interesting about this trailer is swallowed by a gritty aesthetic, one just as dark and boring as Blade Runner 2049 was colorful and compelling.
Everything that’s good is swallowed…or, should I say, lost? Like tears, in the rain? Watching this Blade Runner 2099 trailer, I couldn’t help but think of Roy Batty’s haunting final words. That replicant was worried that his existence wouldn’t matter because everything he did would eventually be forgotten. That’s not really true, of course: others remember him and, in that way, keep him alive. Blade Runner could learn from its own history and realize that it’s enough to live on in the minds of countless fans. Now, the potential failure of this new series may forcibly teach the franchise the same lesson Batty learned the hard way:
When it’s time to die, it’s time to die.
Entertainment
Forgotten Raunchy, R-Rated 2000s Crime Comedy Turns Every Side Quest Into A Disaster
By Robert Scucci
| Published
In my adult life, there’s nothing worse than being forced onto side quests. You run to the grocery store, but while you’re out your car tells you that you have to check your tire pressure. You go to do that and realize a tail light is out, so you head to the auto parts store for a replacement bulb. You finally get home, only to discover you need a proprietary tool to access the rear lights. But you bought the car second-hand, this is the first time you’ve had to change the tail light, and now you have to figure out how to access it.
The feeling I get when this happens reminds me of 2000’s Poor White Trash, which starts out with simple petty theft before turning into an entire fiasco involving the whole town as our heroes decide to rob a bunch of trailer homes in the most incompetent fashion imaginable. There are so many side characters in Poor White Trash, too many to fully unpack here, but they’re also the reason this flick is such a great comedy of errors. Just when you think things can’t get any crazier, they always do.
Things Get Crazy In Poor White Trash
Poor White Trash wastes no time getting Mike (Tony Denman) and Lennie (Jacob Tierney) into trouble, and their adventure begins with stealing non-alcoholic beer from a local convenience store. While trying to rob the store, Lennie, who’s also a pyromaniac, accidentally blows up a car parked out front, injuring the owner in the process. The explosion was only meant to be a distraction before things got out of hand. They both get arrested and get off relatively easy as first-time offenders, but in order to make sure their lives aren’t ruined, they need to raise money for a competent lawyer before their next court hearing.
Mike wants to go to college so he can escape his trailer park upbringing, while Lennie is perfectly content going to trucking school and celebrating a blue-collar lifestyle. Realizing neither of them has much of a shot at moving forward until they get past this obstacle, they decide to rob cheap jewelry from neighboring trailer homes, hoping they can raise enough money to hire Ron, Lennie’s criminal grandfather, to represent them.
Sitting on the sidelines at first is Mike’s mother, Linda (Sean Young), who feels trapped in her own life after ruining her nursing career years earlier through her own reckless, youthful behavior.
While Linda doesn’t approve of the antics that landed Mike and Lennie in trouble in the first place, she refuses to let her son enter adult life at a disadvantage. Her wannabe pro-wrestler ex-husband Jim (Bob Koherr) doesn’t seem to care about Mike, or the fact that Linda has a relationship with a much younger man named Brian (Jason London), who just so happens to be the son of Sheriff Ross (Doug MacHugh), and also just so happens to be hung up on Sandy (Jaime Pressly), who just so happens to be dating Ron, complicating matters further than any sane person could reasonably imagine.
Total Insanity By The Third Act
The above rundown of Poor White Trash made me nauseous because it’s just too many names to keep straight. What’s even more anxiety-inducing is the fact that every single one of these characters pushes Mike, Lennie, and Linda’s adventure into completely unhinged territory. As all these side characters are introduced, our heroes graduate to robbing nursing homes and fast food restaurants, racking up a serious amount of dough while somehow evading authorities, even though they’re incredibly bad at what they do and, at one point, simply wear underwear over their faces to conceal their identities.
As Poor White Trash transforms into an all-out trailer park melee unlike anything you’ve ever seen, all I can say is, “Strap in and enjoy the ride,” because this movie never truly lets up. It’s low-brow humor executed with sophistication, allowing the more slapstick elements to land because the situational humor is so smart in the way it compounds and becomes increasingly overwhelming without ever making the viewer lose the plot.
Poor White Trash is rude, crude, and has just the right amount of ‘tude to be the perfect crime comedy to watch on a lazy summer day. It’s silly, it’s sexy, and somehow, everybody gets what they deserve … kind of.
To witness the spectacle, the drama, the fireworks, and the mayhem, you can stream Poor White Trash for free on Tubi as of this writing.
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Charlize Theron's Forgotten R-Rated Thriller Gets Second Life On Streaming
