Pushing Tin Review

by "Nathaniel R. Atcheson" (nate AT pyramid DOT net)
April 28th, 1999

Pushing Tin (1999)
A Capsule Review by Nathaniel R. Atcheson

Director: Mike Newell
Cast: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Jake Weber, Kurt Fuller
Screenplay: Glen Charles, Les Charles
Producers: Art Linson
Runtime: 124 min.
US Distribution: 20th Century Fox
Rated R: language, sex

Copyright 1998 Nathaniel R. Atcheson

John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton are in top comedic form in Pushing Tin, a strange little movie about air traffic controllers. Directed by Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Enchanted April), the film is hilarious and entertaining for the first hour and a half, but slumps into senselessness for its conclusion. The characters are well-drawn and perfectly acted by the cast, and the movie works when it focuses on the rivalry between the two stars. But it could have been a great movie if it had found the right way to end (which would have included no baptism scenes in a Colorado mountain stream). It also doesn't have a lot to do with air traffic controlling -- we get the feeling this story could have been about stock brokers on Wall Street. Nonetheless, Pushing Tin has more charms than annoyances, and is therefore worth a look.

Psychosis Rating:  7/10

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