It took me a long while to get around to writing this - things have been very busy at work.
I revisited this movie about 2 weeks ago and I forgot just how quirky and funny it is. Seriously. This is one that nobody talks about...ever. You never get in a film-centric discussion where out of the blue somebody says, " oh my god, do you remember Mad Dog and Glory. Fucking great, man." Nobody says that. Not about this flick.
Well, consider the stars aligned and the clouds parted because this movie is just that - fucking great. Its not perfect. I think the score is lame, distractingly so, and the ending leaves something to be desired because the movie forgets its most fascinating relationship, choosing instead to focus on a different one.
What works, though, is a fantastic script with some really great dialogue. Richard Price, the screenwriter, has written some great Tough Guy flicks with nice street-wise dialogue. This is no different, except, for the characters. This flick is all about its characters and that is a remarkably refreshing thing. Price apparently fell in love with 4 characters here and writes the bejesus out of them; giving them some of the best tough-guy talk and interactions that I think I have ever heard/seen.
The problem, though, is that one pivotal character - the Glory of the title (Uma Thurman) doesn't really have a place in the story. She gets left behind amidst all the tough-guy posturing and bonding.
The story is as follows: Mad Dog (Robert De Niro) is a forensics specialist for the Chicago PD. He is a real puss - the nickname is joke, get it? He aspires to be a photographer, lives alone, and is afraid to confront his neighbor's (Kathy Bates) abusive boyfriend. He's a huge softie. His best friend is his partner, a real Irish pisser played by David Caruso.
Well, one night, while buying gum, he thwarts an attempted robbery and murder of notorious gangster, Frank Milo (Bill Murray). Feeling that he is in Mad Dog's debt, Frank befriends him and brings him to his club, where he performs lousy standup, but everyone laughs because they're scared of him.
These initial scenes of De Niro and Murray trying to become friends, despite being on opposite sides of the law, are fantastic. You can see that despite their differences, they want to be friends and they really listen to one another. Their rapport is fantastic and funny - its like the scene in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles when Steve Martin and John Candy wake up in bed together, all nuzzled up against one another. They're thankful for the good sleep, but disgusted they're cuddling so closely.
Next, to further ingratiate himself to De Niro, Murray provides him with some company - Glory, for an entire week. Well, you can guess what happens; Glory and Mad Dog fall in love and Mad Dog has to test the strength of his budding friendship with vicious mobster Murray.
The love story fails, in my opinion. Glory is not a convincing character and I didn't really care about her or whether she sticks around in the end. What I cared about was Murray and De Niro's relationship, and how De Niro's pussy character sort of awakens to the tough guys around him.
Murray has a henchman in the film, Harold, who is another of the 4 great characters. His timing with some of the film's best lines in impeccable.
Caruso has a few good scenes, but one in particular stands out and, I think, might be the best example of tough-guy talk that I have ever seen. In this scene, Caruso is at a bar and sees Mad Dog's neighbor with a serious black eye - her hulking, abusive, asshole boyfriend is sitting next to her. Now, Caruso is considerably smaller than this guy, but it doesn't matter. He takes out his pistol and hands it to Mad Dog. "Hold This," he says. Then, he strolls over to the boyfriend and proceeds to intimidate, ridicule, and embarrass this guy with some of the best posturing in the history of film. It is a great scene.
Lastly, though, I want to say that this is Bill Murray's greatest performance. I know that he has given quite a few good ones recently, but here he is PERFECT. He is funny, endearing, menacing, and pathetic all at once. This was a performance that should have been recognized by an Academy that loves playing against type. Murray walks away with this film - he is great here.
"Cross me and your life becomes a raging sea." - Frank Milo
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