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Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
Ehren Kruger's screenplay must have read better on paper
because the film, directed by John Frankenheimer, lies like a bleak
lump of coal in a Christmas stocking. Ben Affleck plays a convicted
car thief whose cellmate (James Frain) in a cold Michigan prison has a
gorgeous penpal girlfriend, Charlize Theron, whom he met through a
lonely hearts magazine. When the cellmate dies in a food fight,
Affleck assumes his identity, getting the sexy girlfriend but also her
psychotic older brother (Gary Sinese), a small time crook who wants
his help in taking down the Tomahawk Casino on Christmas Eve. His
bizarre scheme includes having his grungy gang dressing up like Santa
Claus with the "ho, ho, ho" becoming a heist. From the beginning,
wholesome Ben Affleck, who always seems to look like an aging frat
boy, is miscast in this cartoonish saga of betrayal, particularly as
when openly yearns for a cup of cocoa and slice of pecan
pie. Beautiful Charlize Theron has enough charisma for both of them,
along with an ability to convince men to believe anything she says,
particularly when she flashes her bare breasts. And no one can do a
buffed, tattooed, over-the-top nutcake like Gary Sinese. But the
dim-witted plot consists of a fast-paced series of intricate
double-crosses that stretch from the barely plausible to the patently
ridiculous. And the absurd ending, literally, had people laughing in
disbelief. Fortunately, Ehren Kruger has Arlington Road and Scream 3
under his belt and John Frankenheimer will be best remembered for
Seven Days in May and The Manchurian Candidate. On the Granger Movie
Gauge of 1 to 10, Reindeer Games is an icy, idiotic, illogical 3. My
advice: don't play. Christmas has come and gone - just as this movie
will.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
