Films Outside the Loop Jeanne Chappé

This movie begins with a very bizarre marriage...you must check all of your guns at the door of the church. Except for the bride, of course! I had often wondered about the purpose of the wedding garter. If you like tongue-in-cheek action movies, you will love this one. This movie is sly and witty with lots of unexpected twists and turns.

Diane Norwood (Tia Carrere) is an FBI agent who is tired of being patted on the butt and called 'sweetheart' by her male colleagues. I can certainly relate. Max Parish (Thomas Ian Griffith) is a pill-popping ex-DEA agent who sings opera. Garrett Lawton (Donald Sutherland) is a professional hit man who is bored with his profession and has lost all of the joy in his life. Killing people is no longer exciting to him. Thomas Livingston (John Lithgow) handles money laundering for mobs from different countries. He has a very interesting moral code!

When Diane, Max and Garrett join forces...all hell literally breaks loose! The interaction between the three of them is hysterical and the action never stops. Shane Cardwell is the stunt co-ordinator ("Murder at 1600" among many other movies) and the stunts are excellent! There are several really good explosions and the fight scenes are very realistic. The humor in this movie does not detract from the action sequences. The combination of the two makes this movie doubly entertaining!

An odd relationship starts to develop between Max and Diane. Their idea of foreplay is shooting at one another! There is a constant competition between the two of them and Garrett is the only one who sees their future together. They have also brought some joy back into Garrett's life...since killing has lost its fascination for him. By the way, Garrett prides himself on killing people with NO pain involved! That seems admirable to me. He also says "I make it my business to know a little bit about everything." And he certainly does!

I have drastically underestimated Thomas Ian Griffith! In this movie he is sleekly charming, slap-stick funny and believably tough. Tia Carrere is excellent but Donald Sutherland virtually steals this movie! I'm sure that you have never considered falling in love with a guy whose lifetime profession is killing people but you may find yourself doing exactly that.

I am not really sure about carrying a 'crotch' gun but I do know that I would never order "Sputnik" vodka!

Runtime: 1:42

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

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