BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I watched this movie without knowing much about it. I knew the names on the poster (Walken, Pacino, and Arkin) and saw a part of a trailer that contained Christopher Walken saying “I threw up in my mouth”. With that I was in. How could you not? The plot was interesting. It starts off with Pacino getting out of jail and his longtime friend Walken going to pick him up. We soon find out that these are older criminals and that Pacino still has a hit out on him. The man that has been contracted to do the killing is Walken. The two know each other so well that Pacino knows this but they still hang out knowing that at 10 AM the next day he is supposed to die. What happens next is a really fun one-night journey. It’s like The Hangover for old criminals. They steal prescription drugs, beat up low lives, go to a whore house a few times, eat steak, steal cars, and have one helluva night. I could go into detail, but I think the fun is experiencing it with the characters. It’s an experience that should be had. It’s not them being super bad ass or crazy like in their most loved movies, but it’s not them being lame old men either. It’s a “coming of age” kind of story, but that “age” just so happens to be “old”. I saw that Bill Burr was part of the cast too so I assumed that “Stand Up Guys” might involve some stand-up comedy. I was wrong. I forgot that Burr does act on occasion. This didn’t ruin my night. It ended up being a fun and enjoyable movie. Julianna Margulies, Mark Margolis, and a hand full of other solid supporting actors made the movie even that much more enjoyable. To me, the stand out was Lucy Punch. She’s always funny and good in things, but as the awkward manager of the whore house she was awesome and memorable. The movie isn’t what I expected, but it was what it needed to be. Hopefully I’m not the only one who will appreciate that. If you are a fan of Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, or Alan Arkin then you want to see this movie. There is no reason not to. If you enjoy comedic action movies with a lot heart then this is for you as well. B
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