The Guys Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)December 20th, 2002
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Whether you're ready for it or not, a 9/11 movie is about to find its way into theatres. The good news is The Guys isn't the 9/11 movie you've been dreading for the last 15 months. You know - the one produced by Jerry Bruckheimer that incorporates a dopey love story into a special effects extravaganza that forsakes historical accuracy in favor of foreign box office grosses (there's probably an animal cracker scene, too). Instead, The Guys is an incredibly thoughtful, deeply meditative picture that neatly and effectively captures the debilitating grief felt in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
The Guys originally began as a one-act play commissioned by Tribeca's Flea Theater (which is very close to Ground Zero) soon after 9/11. Anne Nelson wrote the story, which was inspired by her own true tale of befriending an FDNY Captain while helping him prepare a staggering number of eulogies for the men he lost that fateful Tuesday. A handful of Big Hollywood Stars took turns playing the two roles on stage - actors like Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Susan Sarandon and Marlo Thomas - but in the film version of Nelson's play, we get Anthony LaPaglia and Sigourney Weaver, the latter of whom happens to be married to The Guys' director (and the Flea's artistic director), Jim Simpson.
We're introduced to the story by Joan (Weaver, Tadpole), a Manhattan editor by way of Oklahoma who partially narrates the film via flashback as she types into a laptop. Sometimes we hear her voice describing various events, and sometimes we only see what Joan is typing (and at least once we catch a typographical error). Joan is married, has two kids and, like the rest of us, was more of a horrified bystander to the events of 9/11 as they were unfolding. Fate put Joan's sister - a masseuse - at Ground Zero giving massages to the people working endless debris-clearing shifts. One of her clients happened to be an FDNY Captain named Nick (LaPaglia, Analyze That) who lost most of his men when the World Trade Center collapsed.
Now facing the daunting task of composing eight different eulogies (not to mention delivering them over just a handful of days), a weary Nick turns to Joan for help. He says he doesn't know much about any of the guys, but after a little prodding, gives Joan a few details and tells a couple of stories, which she quickly turns into touching tributes as he slowly opens up to her. We see them collaborate on four of the eulogies, each of which we hear read by Nick in Joan's home, or in the case of number four, at the actual funeral service for the fallen firefighter. This is the only major problem I had with The Guys, and I'm not even sure it's really a problem. I think the film would have been more subtly affecting if we never heard what Joan wrote. On the other hand, I may have subconsciously dreaded hearing what she came up with. It's some powerful stuff.
In addition to learning some nifty fire department terminology and routines, viewers will also be treated to a very odd dance interlude between the two characters that happens about halfway into The Guys. It seems really clunky at first, but then it becomes clear the filmmakers are merely giving their characters (and their viewers) a much-needed respite from the sorrow and despair. The Guys might have felt hollow without the right actors cast in the two leads. Thankfully, LaPaglia and Weaver cut the mustard, delivering two of the year's most memorable performances. Still, The Guys isn't the kind of film you will want to run out and see again right away. It takes a lot out of you, but manages to do so in a non-exploitive fashion. The story works because it feels so urgent, and it feels that way because it was created so soon after the tragedy occurred.
1:38 - Not Rated
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