Spring Break
Movie Review: Smokin' Aces only great in barren winter schedule
Stephen Greenwell
Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Entertainment
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02/07/07 - While Smokin' Aces can't aspire to the heights of truly great gangster movies like The Godfather and Goodfellas, or to clever "trick" movies like The Usual Suspects and Snatch, the film does fill the void in an otherwise slow month for movies. When your competition is Epic Movie and Because I Said So, it doesn't take much to shine.
Smokin' Aces follows the story of the most wanted man in America, Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), a Vegas entertainer. There were always rumors that Frank Sinatra secretly had plenty of mob power; Israel is Gangster Sinatra mixed with the card tricks of Penn and Teller.
However, Israel is sloppy when it comes to his illegal actions, and the FBI has been following him for months. His mob boss, Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin), has finally had enough of his screw-ups and orders a hit. The payoff for the hit? A ridiculously high $1 million for the heart of Buddy Israel.
The high price brings every conceivable killer out of the woodwork. They range from the crazed Nazi Tremor brothers (think the Nihilists from The Big Lebowski, but even more deranged) to a pair of African-American hitwomen (Alicia Keys and Taraji Henson) to Jack Dupree (Ben Affleck), a bail bondsman.
Besides Dupree, the only players not vying to kill Israel are the FBI, who value him as an important witness against Sparazza's criminal organization. FBI department head Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) sends agents Richard Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta) to protect Israel, who is holed up in a Lake Tahoe casino resort.
With the basic premise in place, revealing anything more would be a sacrilegious example of spoiling. However, certain characters and groupings in the interweaving plot are especially effective.
Jason Bateman is stunning in his three minutes of screen time, playing a self-deprecating former lawyer of Israel. His two scenes involve a bra, a thong and a pink costume rabbit helmet. Enough said.
Smokin' Aces follows the story of the most wanted man in America, Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), a Vegas entertainer. There were always rumors that Frank Sinatra secretly had plenty of mob power; Israel is Gangster Sinatra mixed with the card tricks of Penn and Teller.
However, Israel is sloppy when it comes to his illegal actions, and the FBI has been following him for months. His mob boss, Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin), has finally had enough of his screw-ups and orders a hit. The payoff for the hit? A ridiculously high $1 million for the heart of Buddy Israel.
The high price brings every conceivable killer out of the woodwork. They range from the crazed Nazi Tremor brothers (think the Nihilists from The Big Lebowski, but even more deranged) to a pair of African-American hitwomen (Alicia Keys and Taraji Henson) to Jack Dupree (Ben Affleck), a bail bondsman.
Besides Dupree, the only players not vying to kill Israel are the FBI, who value him as an important witness against Sparazza's criminal organization. FBI department head Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) sends agents Richard Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta) to protect Israel, who is holed up in a Lake Tahoe casino resort.
With the basic premise in place, revealing anything more would be a sacrilegious example of spoiling. However, certain characters and groupings in the interweaving plot are especially effective.
Jason Bateman is stunning in his three minutes of screen time, playing a self-deprecating former lawyer of Israel. His two scenes involve a bra, a thong and a pink costume rabbit helmet. Enough said.
