Whole Nine Yards, The
The only reason I originally saw this film was because we were having a film night at my house and we couldn’t decide what to watch. A fellow site reviewer (Dug) suggested that we watch his copy of Whole Nine Yards as he said it was a good comedy to watch as a group. Although I hadn’t really heard of the film, I thought that you usually couldn’t go wrong with....
The only reason I originally saw this film was because we were having a film night at my house and we couldn’t decide what to watch. A fellow site reviewer (Dug) suggested that we watch his copy of Whole Nine Yards as he said it was a good comedy to watch as a group. Although I hadn’t really heard of the film, I thought that you usually couldn’t go wrong with a Bruce Willis film so I agreed and I’m very glad that I did.
Plot
Nicholas “Oz” Oseransky is a very unhappy dentist. He hates his wife Sophie (Rossana Arquette) and she hates him. She refuses to divorce him until he has paid off all her fathers debts. Oz’s life changes completely when a new neighbour moves in, Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski (Bruce Willis) is a hitman who has just come out of prison.
Sophie persuades Oz to go to Chicago and try to get money by revealing Jimmies new whereabouts to Mob boss Janni Gogolack (Kevin Pollack). She does this by offering a divorce if he does it. Oz goes to Chicago with no intention of actually doing it but events jump ahead of him when he finds Frankie Figs (Michael Clarke Duncan) waiting for him. Oz also meets and falls in love with Jimmies wife Cynthia (Natasha Henstridge) while in Chicago.
Things may sound complicated so far but this is just the start. With a lot more double crosses to come and Oz’s receptionist Jill (Amanda Peet) turning out to be not quite what you think, the plot is thick and gripping from start to climax.
Video / Audio
Video quality is excellent on this disk. The disk is double sided with a 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen print on the one side and a 4:3 Pan & Scan on the other. I watched the widescreen version and it’s a very bright and colourful picture.The film is set in Montreal and this provides some wonderful location shots with bright sunny skies and panoramic views.
There is a lot of use of bright scenes where normally a darker tone would be set in a gangster / hitman type of film. This really helps to lift the mood from the Film-Noir realm to more of a comedy.
On the audio side the disk is presented with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. As it is a comedy, it is a very dialogue based film, so don’t expect too many loud surround effects. Having said that all the channels are used effectively when needed. The film also has a very good musical score that fits in well with the scenes.
Extras
On the extras side there’s an audio commentary from Director Jonathon Lynn. This is a fairly interesting commentary with plenty of insight into the making of the scenes as you progress through the film. Unlike the film the commentary is quite straight although some of the insights into the comedy are quite amusing.
The rest of the extras are fairly minor. There’s some cast & crew interviews, some of these are very brief (Bruce Willis for one) but some are a little longer particularly the interview with director Jonathan Lynn. There’s also a cast & crew list page and a theatrical trailer.
Overall
Although I don’t mind the sitcom Friends I wouldn’t exactly call myself a big fan. Mathew Perry however is very funny in this film, he manages to lift the mood of every scene and make it more light-hearted. Bruce is up to his usual standard and provides a great straight role next to Perry. Just as good as the two lead roles however are the excellent female supporting cast, especially Amanda Peet as Jill.
I really enjoyed this black comedy and highly recommend it, especially if you get a few friends round and have a few drinks while watching. It has a very good balance of comedy and suspense and is short enough to have no dull dragging moments. A very enjoyable 4 out of 5 from me.
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