Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Scott Rosenberg's script for "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" skates the edge big time in this 1995 film. There are times when what comes out of the mouth of his characters is on a par with Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarrantino, but there are also moments when the verbiage becomes so dense that the film loses momentum. But whether you think that Rosenberg comes out ahead in the end or falls short, I can guarantee you that you will never forget what it means to "Buckwheat" somebody and that "Boat drinks" will sound like a great idea until the day you die.
The situation in "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" is that Jimmy the Saint (Andy Garcia) and his buddies know there time is coming to an end any moment. Jimmy runs a business where dying people get to videotape words of wisdom from beyond the grave to their loved ones. Throughout the film we get to see clips from such tapes, and if you do not know who is going to appear on the last one then you are not really thinking ahead on this one. This might be a good idea but it is a lousy business and Jimmy has been losing money and what he owes is now due to the Man With the Plan (Christopher Walken), a psychotic paraplegic who knows exactly how Jimmy can work out his debt.
A widower, the Man's son has been arrested for trying to molest a young girl on a school playground in broad daylight. The Man thinks that the son will get himself right again if only he can get back together with his old girlfriend, but she has a new boyfriend. Jimmy is order to pick up the boyfriend when he comes back to Denver and "brace" him. So Jimmy rounds up the old gang to do the deed and makes the mistake of picking Pieces (Christopher Lloyd), a projectionist at a porno theater who has lost a couple of digits to leprosy, and Critical Bill (Treat Williams), a psycho who has not beaten up a live person in years because he blows off steam by pummeling corpses, out front.
Suffice it to say that things go wrong, horribly wrong ((if you see parallels between this film and "Reservoir Dogs" I should point out that director Gary Fleder made a point of telling people that Rosenberg's script was written long before Tarrantino's film was made). This is why Jimmy and the boys are dead because the Man is going to have them killed. And not just killed. The famous hit man Mister Shhh (Steve Buscemi) is coming to town to not only kill the boys, but "Buckwheat" them (short version: lots of pain and suffering before death). Fortunately, we do not get to see too much of the actual Buckwheating, but the idea of it is enough to make you start cringing every time another one of the gang goes down for the long count.
Beyond the obvious complication that Jimmy feels bad about causing the imminent deaths of his friends, which he tries to do something about without success, he has a couple of romantic entanglements. Jimmy has just fallen for Dagney (Gabrielle Anwar), making sure there was as little time between their first and second date (because there is no kissing on the first date), and he knows that the Man knows about her. But Jimmy also has a soft spoke for Lucinda (Fairuza Balk), who might be a hooker but he does not like it when johns take advantage of her, especially now that she is pregnant.
We have no reason to believe that Jimmy can get out of Denver let along the end of this movie alive. The rules of the game are too clearly established here, and there is a retired gangster at the local diner (Jack Warden) who helps to fill in the gaps. The question is whether Jimmy can put together some sort of moral victory before the lights go out, and while there are certainly moments when this film is too damn cute for its own good, I appreciate it when a character listens to me screaming at him what he has to do to payback the Man before the end and actually does it.
It took me a while to get around to this one, but it is nice to see that Rosenberg has shown surer footing nearing the edge in the scripts he has written since then for "Con Air" and "High Fidelity." Fleder has gone on to direct "Kiss the Girls" and "Runaway Jury," both of which are improvements on this effort as well. "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" is not a first level example of the modern film noir, but it aspires to be and it has some moments. Plus, you have Christopher Walken showing how menacing he can be when nothing works below the neck, which is certainly good for something as well.


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Sexy Andy Garcia (WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN) heads an outstanding all-star cast in this riveting and highly original thriller! When a powerful mob boss (Christopher Walken -- PULP FICTION) gives ex-gangster Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) one last job, it's an offer he can't refuse! But when someone gets killed, Jimmy and his partners are marked for death, leaving Jimmy just 48 hours to put things right for his buddies and the woman of his dreams (beautiful Gabrielle Anwar -- SCENT OF A WOMAN)! Acclaimed by critics nationwide, THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD delivers sensational edge-of-your-seat entertainment!

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