业余小偷 Small Time Crooks review by James Berardinelli 英文影评

业余小偷，Small Time Crooks

It has been a while since veteran filmmaker Woody Allen has provided movie-goers with a memorable motion picture, and Small Time Crooks does not provide an exception. Of late, the director's work has been neither deplorable nor unwatchable, but it has been uninspired - films like Deconstructing Harry, Celebrity, and Sweet and Lowdown have left a minimal impression at best. Like them, Small Time Crooks has its share of high points, but not enough to elevate the movie anywhere close to the level of Allen's best.

 

Small Time Crooks is the first Allen feature distributed by Dreamworks and the last to be funded by producer Jean Doumanian (whose involvement with the filmmaker dates back to 1994's Bullets Over Broadway). And, in a break from recent tradition, it is being released during the spring instead of the fall. The strategy is questionable - with so many high profile movies flooding the market, something like Small Time Crooks can easily become lost in the press, with only Allen's small core of loyalists coming out to see it.

 

The film starts out with a great deal of promise. In fact, the first reel gleams like a well-polished comic gem. Unfortunately, Allen can't maintain this consistent level of humor or energy, and Small Time Crooks begins to meander aimlessly. It regains its momentum towards the end - an act that allows it to close on a high note. Allen, having a lead role in one of his movies for the first time since 1997's Deconstructing Harry, plays Ray Winkler, an ex-con who spent two years in prison for committing an inept bank robbery. Along with his wife, Frenchy (Tracey Ullman), he ekes out a meager existence. Then, one day, he is hit by a brainstorm - a "foolproof" way to rob a bank with the help of three friends: Tommy (Tony Darrow), Denny (Michael Rapaport), and Benny (Jon Lovitz). The problem, as Frenchy observes, is that Ray's would-be associates are lacking in the intelligence department. "They never completed kindergarten," she notes, "Because they got drafted." With their help, Ray intends to rent a store near a bank, set up a cookie selling business as a front, and tunnel underground into the bank vault. However, a few problems arise. In the first place, the operation gets off to a bad start when the diggers hit a water main. Secondly, Ray has trouble reading his map of the bank's layout. Finally, Frenchy's cookies are a big hit, and the store becomes the center of media attention with lines that rival those at the most popular Disneyworld attractions - not exactly the low profile Ray is looking for.
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The cast features a few Woody Allen regulars, including Tracey Ullman (Bullets Over Broadway), Michael Rapaport (Mighty Aphrodite), and Tony Darrow (who has had small roles in a number of movies). Rapaport has never been one of my favorite performers, but he is the perfect choice for the knuckleheaded Denny. Ullman, on the other hand, tends to be more annoying than amusing (partly because of her exaggerated New York accent). Hugh Grant, who has significant screen time during the film's midsection, plays a suave con artist named David, but his performance is largely flat an uncharismatic, and his scenes with Ullman, which eat up screen time, are dull. Screenwriter Elaine May makes a rare acting appearance as the ditzy May, one of the film's most consistently amusing personalities. Then there's Allen himself, who is as neurotic as ever, although this time he doesn't seem to be playing out scenes from his autobiography.

 

When Small Time Crooks works, it can be laugh-aloud funny. There are periods during this film that recall some of the great Woody Allen classics of the past. Unfortunately, Allen can't sustain those moments, and the fall-off leads to instances when the humor feels forced. The movie's middle section, which concentrates on Frenchy's desire to become "high class", is poorly focused and stagnant. For roughly 45 minutes, which is about half of the running length, little happens in the way of plot advancement or effective comedy. It is during this part of the film that Hugh Grant appears on the scene. Once the film's trio of idiots - Tommy, Denny, and Benny - are out of the picture, Small Time Crooks descends into mediocrity. The film recovers during its final 15 minutes with another caper, but, by that time, many viewers will be squirming in their seats. Given my fondness for Allen, I wish I could recommend Small Time Crooks more strongly, but the truth is that it's a weak (bordering on inconsequential) entry into the director's canon, and not worth expending much of an effort to attend.

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