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Stark Raving Mad (2002)

It’s all about being in the wrong place at the right time

Rating: 4/10

Running Time: 97 minutes

UK Certificate: 15

On DVD

Seann William Scott dons a distractingly large amount of facial fuzz to star alongside a cast of little-knowns in this latest attempt at latching onto the success of Pulp Fiction and Lock, Stock, etc. It might be a little harsh to suggest the beard is a last-gasp attempt by the triple-named one to hide his embarrassment at accepting a role in such a lacklustre production – but I can’t be the only viewer to have had the thought cross my mind. It’s a semi-serious role for the angular-jawed ‘American Pie’ and ‘Dude, Where’s My Car?’ doofus. He plays Ben, the wild-eyed nightclub promoter roped into robbing a bank by silly-haired Chinatown mob-lord Gregory (Lou Diamond Phillips). So, along with accomplices Rikki (Timm “poor man’s Sam Rockwell” Sharp), Jeffrey (Patrick Breen), Betty (Suzy Nakamura) and Jake (John V. Crye), he sets about breaking into the bank vault whilst simultaneously fighting off the attentions of various dance-floor hussies and under-cover Feds. The plot is reasonable enough if never in any danger of becoming even slightly original, and the unfolding of the climax is just about interesting enough to hold the attention. But directorial duo Drew Daywalt and David Schneider seem obsessed with throwing in various camera tricks and self-indulgent stylistics wherever possible, and though some of it is impressively done, it adds little to the film as a whole. Similarly off-putting are Ben’s intermittent asides to the camera, which tell us nothing we can’t suss out for ourselves and largely just seem to be excuses for SWS to spout nonsense directly to the viewer. The movie does contain a couple of funny moments, but allowing this into the comedy genre is a bit of a squeeze. You’re much more likely to find it filed in your video store’s “instantly forgettable” category.

It's Got: A safe-cracker who lives his life by the rule of the mood-fish - so clearly he hasn’t worked out yet that they only flip over cos you’ve got sweaty paws.

It Needs: For the directors to stop trying to show-off and concentrate on making a better film.

DVD Extras Nada. DVD Extras Rating: 0/10

Summary

You’ve seen it all before. Strictly for Seann William Scott fans, otherwise give it a miss.