The tagline for the movie begins with the statement, “They were just a couple of losers from Queens...” - and they still are.

Launched into low grade celebrity in the nineties thanks to their filthy-mouthed crank phone call routine, the Jerky Boys hoped to translate that into movie stardom. It didn’t take.

This is notably bad. It says something that even with no expectations of quality they could still under perform. The sniping John G. Brennan can deliver a line but he is given no material to work with. His partner Kamal Ahmed is a doughy prop who talks. He has no stage presence and seems dazed most of the time. His role could have been improved by removing all of his dialog and simply having him trail Brannan while nodding. The duo fumbles through sophomoric dialog and fail to produce any laughs.

The only thing of interest about this movie is the presence of Alan Arkin. Sure, people do plenty of things for money in the industry but still, what was he thinking? Did he owe someone big time? Is there a relative who asked him for a solid? Arkin is hardly Laurence Olivier but he is a known commodity, why risk it doing pap like this?


Related Reviews:
Alan Arkin movies
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
13 Conversations About the Same Thing (2001)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Washington Post
Kids-in-Mind

Labels: Alan Arkin, comedy, film, movie review