I don’t think I gave this one the attention it was due when it first came out. I remember watching it, but not paying as much attention to it as I should. Watching it now, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It’s got a great cast, and a tight script.

A group of friends find themselves in a lot of trouble when their plan goes sideways. Avery (Henry Thomas) has recruited his friends, Max (Sean Patrick Flannery) Brett (Jay Mohr), T.K. (Jeremy Sisto) and Ira (Johnny Galecki) to help get his kidnapped sister, Elise (Laura Harris) back from a couple of low level (and low-intelligence) thugs, Heckle (Frank Medrano) and Jeckyll (Brad Garrett).

To do that, they’ll need the ransom of two million dollars, and someone who knows how to deal with the criminal element… they kidnap a high level mafioso, Carlo (Christopher Walken).

And the plan unravels very fast, as Carlo’s right-hand man, Lono (Denis Leary) works not only to track down Elise, but recover his boss.

As the narrative progresses, Carlo (or Charlie as he likes to be called now) begins to insinuate himself amongs the group of friends, and slowly tugs at the threads of the friendhip, and their actions. He is convinced that this may be an inside job, but who did it?

The film walks a nice line between dramatic thriller and comedy. There’s a sense of real friendship to the characters, just from the dialogue, the banter and their physical reactions to one another.

Walken shines. But that goes without saying. He’s just fantastic here. Leary gets to rant and rave, and the rest of the cast are a practical who’s who of young 90s actors.

There’s almost a feel of a stage play about this one. In fact, it could be adapted easily. It’s almost all in one location, and relies on the performances of its cast to convey trust, or lack there of, as things progress.

One gets the impression that each of the actors loved going toe-to-toe with Walken, and that adds an enjoyable frisson to everything that happens on-screen.

I really enjoyed this one this time out. I don’t know why it didn’t connect with me all those years ago. I like the entire cast, I love the pacing, the script, and I love how the twists and reveals play out. It comes across as a small film, but it’s damned enjoyable, and I think it definitely has a bit of cult status.

Damn fun.