Rated: Freaky Deaky
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Street Date: February 26, 2013
Available On: DVD

The Film: Two bomb-making criminals, a disgraced cop, a prostitute with a big heart, a drugged-out filmmaker and a oversized bodyguard walk into an Elmore Leonard novel set in the 1970s. People plot, scheme and blow stuff up.

The Extras: Making-Of Featurette

Recommendation: I’m not an expert when it comes to Elmore Leonard. I’ve seen numerous films based on his works I’ve never actually read any of his novels. “Freaky Deaky” feels campier, less stylish and pales in comparison to “Jackie Brown” or “Out of Sight.” It’s similar in tone to “Get Shorty,” only goofier and not nearly as much fun. Part of the problem is the casting. No matter how you stretch it Christian Slater, Billy Burke, Michael Jai White, Andy Dick and Crispin Glover can’t match up against the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, George Clooney or whatever other heavy hitters Soderbergh or Tarantino have brought to the fray. They certainly try their hardest, perhaps even a bit too hard, but in the end it’s like bringing a knife to a nuclear war; it just doesn’t end favorably. “Freaky Deaky” is reserved for Leonard completists only.

-Ryan Michael Painter