Palookaville

1996 "One foot in the door. The other one in the gutter."
6.5| 1h32m| R| en
Details

Jerry and his two pals, Russ and Syd, are just looking for some easy money to help them break out of their nowhere lives in their nowhere town. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which exposes their incompetence as criminals, a fateful event (and an old black-and-white film) convinces them that they can pull off an armored-truck robbery. While they are busy plotting their caper, their dysfunctional families spin out of control, all around them.

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Reviews

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
bob the moo In New Jersey three friends are out of work and out of prospects for improvement. Their first attempt at crime fails when they break into a bakery they mistake for the back of a jewellers shop. Russell's brother in law is a cop who knows that he is up to no good, however Russell still wants the trio to do one reasonable job to help them onto their feet. The next step is the robbery of an armoured car. However, are they bad at being bad or just to good to be bad.There have been quite a few films that make comedy of inept criminals, however this film is more than that. Rather than being figures of fun, these are good people without much hope who resort to crime in rather amateur way, for example to help plan their job they hire a 1950's crime thriller called `Armoured Car Robbery' from the video store. There are no pratfalls or physical humour but instead gentle stuff that is amusing.The title comes from the line in On The Waterfront in which Marlon Brando bemoans his failure as a fighter as a `one-way ticket to Palookaville' or being a loser. The three men of the title are losers, but they are good, likeable people in difficult situations. Happily the film allows us into their lives so that they are not just `inept criminals' caricatures. The dialogue is involving but also snappy and witty. The strong cast help this enormously. Gallo is really good in the lead and the actual moment when he realises that he may be in a tough spot but he is not a bad person is really quite touching. Forsythe is good and wears his sensitive side well on his sleeve. Trese has the most difficult character – the danger would be he becomes the `drama' side of the film, but he handles it well with good support from his on-screen wife Hamilton. The support cast of family and lovers all are really believable characters, although the film really belongs to the lead three.Overall I suspect many will find this slight and not as funny as they expected. However I found it a well written (sharp yet real dialogue) with respect for it's characters – finding humour in their situations and approach rather than making them comedy characters. Add this to some well pitched performances and it makes for a film that does what it sets out to do and does it better than many of it's ilk.
dikarmy This is the 2nd film I've seen Vincent Gallo (the other one was `Buffalo 66' which was decent) act in, and I have to say this guy picks perfect roles. You forget the guy is acting, and that's the mark of a craftsman. He ends up in my favorite scene of the movie where his neighbor playfully starts a last call strip-tease after he returns home one night. Gallo this time plays Russell, who along with his buddies, do their best to bounce off the outer rim of social responsibility by tackling the next level of semi-professional burglary. Russell should have learnt long ago that you need to lock the bedroom door or something s****y is bound to happen. The performances are compelling and the writing is convincing. Above all, it's a very funny film. There are some good lines and unforgettable scenes (the moments at the dinner table come to mind). So yeah, you end up laughing more than you expected but the movie `Palookaville' actually does what it's supposed to do; it moves you. You care about what happens to these guys because they are learning more about themselves than you expect them to. As a result you don't really want this one to end early. Remember… if you ever see a legally blind person trying to board a bus with not one but two guide dogs, the small one's in training.
ed.wenn Basically this is one of the finest films I saw the year it came out. American indie comedy/character cinema at its best. The trouser sniffing scene almost got me ejected from the cinema for laughing too loudly. This movie is an absolute triumph. Around the same time I caught 'Big Night', 'The Daytrippers' & 'Buffalo 66' - all great films. If you liked any of them you'll love 'Palookaville'.
JoeChristmasPunk A comedy about a three friends that plan to make a profitable crime. Sounds fun. But the truth: I was bored. There were some moments that were truly funny like the beginning where they accidentally rob a bakery and steal sweets. And at the end when they try to rob an armored truck and the outcome. But honestly everything between was boring to me. Each one had their own dramatic story on why they should take a "life of crime", which contained no humor or heart. I could care less for these guys except William Forsythe whom had dogs in the movie. Everyone likes dogs. A suggestion: check out "Bottle Rocket". Somewhat the same plot but tons more funny.