Made Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)August 25th, 2001
MADE (2001) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Sean Combs, Peter Falk, Famke Janssen, Faizon Leve and Vincent Pastore. Written and directed by Jon Favreau. Rated R. 94 minutes.
Made is a comedy-drama friendship movie cloaked in the garb of the mobster genre.
Making his directorial debut, actor Jon Favreau brings along his Swingers co-star, Vince Vaughn, for this tale of two mugs on a career trajectory to nowheresville.
Favreau, who also wrote the script, is Bobby, Vaughn is Ricky. By day they are construction workers. They also are wanna-be contenders, but neither has had much success. Their last bout pitted them against each other and was a draw, leaving Bobby's record at 5-5-1.
These two L.A. not-so-wise guys also work for Max (Peter Falk), a mid-level mobster, who is patient and understanding with Bobby, but who hates Ricky's guts.
Max has an easy job for Bobby; fly to New York and make a simple delivery to a gangster named Ruiz (a smooth and silky Sean Combs).
Bobby, because of his lifelong friendship with Ricky, pleads with Max to give his pal another chance and let him tag along to the Big Apple.
Against his better judgment, Max agrees.
Of course Ricky, a motormouth who inserts both feet everytime he speaks, nearly screws up everything.
While Bobby tries to stay calm and professional, Ricky begins swaggering and throwing money around as if he was John Gotti or Tony Soprano.
The constrast in styles and the chemistry between Favreau and Vaughn is what makes Made so enjoyable to watch.
Favreau with his hound-dog face and slow-burn personality could be a modern-day Oliver Hardy, only much wiser.
Vaughn is like someone vaccinated with a phonograph needle, he just keeps yakking and yakking, unaware of the havoc he creates.
Yet despite Bobby's constant aggravation and agitation with his partner, a bond of affection and loyalty binds them.
The contrast between the two friends is interesting to watch. Bobby is button-downed, tightly-wound, always waiting for the next shoe -courtesy of Ricky - to drop.
Ricky is mostly oblivious to the problems he creates and is genuinely surprised when he comes under attack for his faux paus.
In New York, the two lackeys are like fish out of water, stumbling from one situation to another, trying to keep alive.
Combs is elegant, cool and low-key menacing as the gangsta they are sent to meet.
Falk is amusing in his small role, while Famke Janssen nearly breaks your heart as Bobby's lowlife girlfriend.
More than anything, Made is a movie with heart. It is loud, obnoxious and very talkative. But the cameraderie between Bobby and Ricky holds the key to its interest.
Favreau does a commendable job in his directorial debut. He is a player to be watched as he can only improve with experience.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette.
Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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