Reindeer Games (2000)


Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)

Reindeer Games (2000)


Director: John Frankenheimer


Cast: Ben Affleck as Rudy Duncan, James Frain as Nick, Dana Stubblefield as The Alamo, Mark Acheson as Mean Guard, Tom Heaton as Ugly Staffer, Isaac Hayes as Zook, Michael Sunczyk as Distant Inmate #1, Douglas Arthurs as Distant Inmate #2 (as Douglas H. Arthurs), Dean Wray as Guard #1, Ron Sauvé as Guard #2 (as Ron Sauve), Ron Jeremy as Prisoner #1 (as Ron Hyatt), Hrothgar Mathews as Exit Guard, Charlize Theron as Ashley, Clarence Williams III as Merlin, Donal Logue as Pug




Ben Affleck plays Rudy, a con just trying to go straight (are there other
kinds in the movies?), waiting for his imminent release. He and his cellmate
Nick each have plans of enjoying themselves once they get out of stir.
Nick's involves meeting and spending the rest of his life with a woman he's
never met, a pen pal named Ashley (Charlize Theron). Ah, but the best-laid
plans and all that go horribly awry when Nick is slain a few days before
they're both due to be sprung. What a coincidence! Naturally, Rudy pretends
to be Nick to Ashley, discovering her to be quite the cutie. You see, he's
just gotten out of prison, hasn't been with a woman in years, and.... Well,
anyway, he hooks up with the gorgeous Ashley, and all is well - for a few
hours, anyway, until Ashley's brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise) shows up and
demands Rudy/Nicky help him and his gang - who have never robbed anyone -
pull off a heist of a local Indian casino. Of course, Rudy, being Rudy and
not Nick, doesn't know a thing about the casino (Nick was a guard there
years ago). And he tries to tell Gabriel that. But wouldn't you know it, the
creep just won't listen! (Bad guys are like that.)

So your basic plot involves Rudy trying to help/not help these guys with
their evil plan, and of course they'll stop at nothing, and of course things
go wrong, etc. Oh sure, there are a few plot twists, and some will have you
guessing, but my bet is there's going to be a lot in this movie that you've
seen before. And if you think the plot's relatively ho-hum, with few
surprises, then you're left with the performances of the three main leads.


Ben Affleck is miscast, in my opinion. His character's not terribly likeable
(I mean he DOES lie to Charlize Theron, after all), but that's not his
fault. Affleck's problem is that he combines arrogance with tough-guy
attitude and thinks it makes him multifaceted. No, Ben, it makes you look
like a jerk. A better choice for this role might have been Edward Norton
(Fight Club). Norton can play tough with foibles, and I don't think Affleck
has that ability.

Charlize Theron is outstanding. She delivers a deep, stunning performance
that produces new wrinkles with each scene. Much like Barbara Stanwyck in
Double Indemnity, Theron is crafty, essaying more in those bewitching eyes
than most actors can in an entire soliloquy.

And Gary Sinise? He's Gary Sinise. He's sinister, he's mean-spirited....he's
the heavy. He's the bad guy, folks, and Sinise has played this role a few
times, so he knows what he's doing. Oh sure, maybe his character is nothing
more than a cardboard Bad Guy role, but hey, that's more the fault of the
screenwriting than it is of the actor, so I won't blame him. I've seen his
talent range, and I know he's got some. (See Of Mice and Men or The Green
Mile or Ransom.)

Bottom line - it's not exactly filled with the kind of twists that'll keep
you guessing, but it's not too bad. It is, however, a bit of a comedown from
the director of The Manchurian Candidate. But fret not, friends - it is,
after all, a rental at this point, and it's worth the $3.50 or so.

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