Films Outside the Loop Jeanne Chappé

This is a dark moral tale of conscience, ethics and loyalty!

Victor (John Stockwell) is getting married in three weeks and his partner Michael (Mario Van Peebles) plans a surprise stag party for him. Michael has arranged for all of Victor's old friends to meet at Victor's elegant country home. These are men that Victor has not seen in years. They have all gone very different directions.

Timan (John Henson) is an accountant and the author of "Ethics in Business". Taylor (Gregory Alan Williams) is a former football player and child care worker. Jon (William McNamara) is a soap opera star and spokesman for "Stars Against Drugs", Pete (Andrew McCarthy) is a drug dealer, extortionist and obviously self-employed. Daniel (Kevin Dillon) is a gulf war veteran suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome. Ben (Mark Blum) is the owner of the "Happy Home" greeting card chain. Ed (Gerald Anthony) is a contractor and church treasurer. Frank (Ben Gazzara) is a restaurateur and grandfather. Ted (Jerry Stiller) lives next door and keeps trying to join in on the fun. These are the main players.

The party gets off to a rousing start with a lot of hard drinking, a few drugs, a blow-up doll and, of course, a couple of strippers (sisters) who bring along their armed bodyguard. During this party, someone is always video-taping the activity. At one point, their sophomoric hijinks start a horrific chain of events moving. They accidently kill one of the strippers. Ooops! Serena, the other stripper, is played by Taylor Dayne who gives an amazing performance.

This could be a stage play as it all takes place in the same location. It is a very dark look at what you would do to save yourself. What kind of deal can you make with your conscience? How far above the law can you go and what actions can you actually live with? The tensions build as these ten men try to deal with this unexpected 'situation'. The friends' secrets start coming out and their loyalty to each other quickly evaporates.

This film will definitely keep your adrenalin flowing! Just when you think that things can't get any worse...they do (again and again). The selection of music is fascinating and the additional music was provided by Gallon Drunk (you figure it out)!

Runtime: 1:31

This film is available on DVD, VHS, cable or satellite.

<

---

This column is dedicated to those films that most of the world missed!