Day 175 - Go



Day 175          Go [1999]
                          
Screenplay                    John August
Director                         Doug Liman
Cinematography            Doug Liman
Music                            BT
Leads                            Katie Holmes, Sarah Polley, Desmond Askew, Nathan Bexton, Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olyphant, William Fichtner, Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, Melissa McCarthy
Production                     Banner Entertainment

IMDb                                7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes                91%

Doug Liman is a fairly successful director of some well-known films. Bourne Identity, Mr & Mrs Smith, American Made (Day 47) and Swingers are all famous in their own ways. I have learnt on this blog that the best directors out there produce the goods time after time and one should explore their archives for hidden gems. Go is one of those. It’s exactly the type of film I personally enjoy. A bit of a break from the [Hollywood] norm, to quote Will Smith back when he was at his coolest. The film follows three separate but interlinked storylines that surround a bunch of teenagers who work at a superstore. It’s like a low-budget, stoner Babel (Day 34). I think my favourite part was the first one, Ronna’s (Polley) as she is asked by a couple of guys to sell them some drugs as her dealer friend, Simon (Askew), is away in Vegas. She is helped by two of her friends, the beautiful Katie Holmes and the man who provides the funniest scenes in the movie, Nathan Bexton. Although the second part is the most action-packed it was also the worst. I think Desmond Askew’s casting was a bad one and it was like a mini American Pie episode. The third part was quietly funny, because what is this film without the weird sexual tension and a pyramid scene with cop from Longest Yard and Prison Break. I was nervous about how it was going to end as these things can often fall flat but thanks to Holmes and a young Oliphant (my pick of the bunch of the actors) it all ended rather nicely. The middle section really let the film down but I’m still going to score it highly as it’s the type of film I could imagine myself making.

Acting                            3 / 4
Writing                           3 / 4
Cinematography          3.5 / 4
Music                             3 / 4
HWF rating             3.5 / 4

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