Fans of the recent, disastrous MGM release "Mad Dog Time" - and the half-dozen or so of them know who they are - are The Only Ones who should appreciate this effort written by Larry Bishop (Joey's son).
Bishop attracts top-notch talent to his projects, but after this one-two punch he's going to have to resuscitate the Rat Pack if he expects to stay in the business.
"Underworld" is a gangster tale told in the in-vogue Quentin Tarantino style, but with a surreal, hallucinatory tinge. The plot is fairly incomprehensible, but it has something to do with the efforts of ex-con Johnny Alt, a k a Johnny Crown (Denis Leary), to avenge the attempted murder of his father. Among his possible intended victims is his former best friend Frank (Joe Mantegna), the owner of the nightclub that gives the film its name. In his seven years in prison, Johnny has become a psychotherapist, and he proudly refers to himself as the only psychopathic psychotherapist in the business.
While busily gunning down various mobsters, Johnny takes the time to reunite Frank with both his ex-wife (Annabella Sciorra), also a shrink, and his estranged father (Abe Vigoda, no doubt nostalgic for his role in "The Godfather"). In the meantime, another hoodlum, Ned Lynch (played by Bishop himself, with the same lack of effectiveness he demonstrated in "Mad Dog Time"), is on the rampage, dispatching various victims with brutal efficiency, including a perfectly pleasant stripper played by Traci Lords.
Leary and Mantegna deliver their lines with their usual degree of intensity, but their embarrassment is palpable. Director Roger Christian, who won an Oscar for his set decoration on "Star Wars", has given the film an overly stylized visual design that only accentuates its pretensions.
UNDERWORLD
Legacy Releasing
Keystone Pictures in association
with Trimark Pictures
Director Roger Christian
Executive producers Mark Amin,
Michael Strange, Abra Edelman
Producers Robert Vince, William Vince
Writer Larry Bishop
Director of photography Steven Bernstein
Editor Robin Russell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Johnny Crown/Johnny Alt Denis Leary
Frank Gavilan/Richard Essex Joe Mantegna
Dr. Leah Annabella Sciorra
Ned Lynch Larry Bishop
Will Cassady Abe Vigoda
Stan Robert Costanzo
Anna Traci Lords
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Bishop attracts top-notch talent to his projects, but after this one-two punch he's going to have to resuscitate the Rat Pack if he expects to stay in the business.
"Underworld" is a gangster tale told in the in-vogue Quentin Tarantino style, but with a surreal, hallucinatory tinge. The plot is fairly incomprehensible, but it has something to do with the efforts of ex-con Johnny Alt, a k a Johnny Crown (Denis Leary), to avenge the attempted murder of his father. Among his possible intended victims is his former best friend Frank (Joe Mantegna), the owner of the nightclub that gives the film its name. In his seven years in prison, Johnny has become a psychotherapist, and he proudly refers to himself as the only psychopathic psychotherapist in the business.
While busily gunning down various mobsters, Johnny takes the time to reunite Frank with both his ex-wife (Annabella Sciorra), also a shrink, and his estranged father (Abe Vigoda, no doubt nostalgic for his role in "The Godfather"). In the meantime, another hoodlum, Ned Lynch (played by Bishop himself, with the same lack of effectiveness he demonstrated in "Mad Dog Time"), is on the rampage, dispatching various victims with brutal efficiency, including a perfectly pleasant stripper played by Traci Lords.
Leary and Mantegna deliver their lines with their usual degree of intensity, but their embarrassment is palpable. Director Roger Christian, who won an Oscar for his set decoration on "Star Wars", has given the film an overly stylized visual design that only accentuates its pretensions.
UNDERWORLD
Legacy Releasing
Keystone Pictures in association
with Trimark Pictures
Director Roger Christian
Executive producers Mark Amin,
Michael Strange, Abra Edelman
Producers Robert Vince, William Vince
Writer Larry Bishop
Director of photography Steven Bernstein
Editor Robin Russell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Johnny Crown/Johnny Alt Denis Leary
Frank Gavilan/Richard Essex Joe Mantegna
Dr. Leah Annabella Sciorra
Ned Lynch Larry Bishop
Will Cassady Abe Vigoda
Stan Robert Costanzo
Anna Traci Lords
Running time -- 95 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
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