Harry here with yet another review from Toronto. So many movies... Twould be heaven. Here's our first look at Ted Demme's latest...

Stax here. I wrote the review of "The Rat Pack" that you posted about a
month ago. I'm writing to you with a review of a film I had the pleasure
of working on (under the table don't you know -- maybe you should strike
that?) last year as a lowly P.A. (cheapskates never did pay me for my
last day!). It's a small indie flick by director Ted Demme which stars
Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Famke Janssen, Colm Meaney, Ian Hart (John
Lennon in "Backbeat"), Noah Emmerich (Jim Carrey's best friend in "The
Truman Show"), Jason Barry (Leonardo's gut-shot Irish pal in Titantic),
Billy Crudup, John Diehl (of Stargate and Miami Vice fame), and a cameo
by Jeanne Tripplehorn. Billy Zane was supposed to be in it as an Italian
hood named Silvio but they cut one pivotal scene from the flick, says
Demme, so I imagine that was the one since I saw Zane's finished contract
while working in the production office (I only worked on it during
pre-production and the first week of filming, so I never met/saw Zane
actually around).

When I worked on the film, it was entitled "Noose". Then it became
"Snitch"; that's the title it was shown under at Sundance this past
winter. Then it became "Talk of the Town". Now, finally, "Monument Ave".
It was screened last Thursday (been too busy to post this sooner) at the
Boston Film Festival. Leary, Famke, and Demme were all there to plug it;
Famke and Demme were also plugging "Rounders" in the next theater. The
film's getting primarily positive reviews and the audience seemed to
really enjoy it. The problem is that it's a small, dark indie whose
appeal probably won't be very strong outside of urban Boston unless
there's positive word of mouth and critical acclaim to help it. That's
why I'm writing to you.

First off, I went into this screening with pretty low expectations even
though I briefly worked on it because the script pages I had thumbed
through didn't seem too enthralling and the writer's the same guy who
penned the atrocious Leary-starrer "Two if By Sea". I must say, though, I
was very pleasantly surprised by "Monument Ave" (it looks like Demme and
the cast did a lot of improv; it paid off). It's a dark but funny look at
life for Bobby O'Neil, a middle-aged, Irish-American car thief and dope
fiend (Leary, 'course) in Charlestown, Mass. (a blue-collar, Irish
enclave in urban Boston, site of Bunker Hill). Bobby and his crew (which
includes his young cousin over from Dublin) are stuck in a perpetually
adolescent existence of booze and drugs, racist bantering, and macho
posturing. Bobby then is an all-around ne'er-do-well who still lives with
his parents even though he's damn near forty! He steals foreign
sportscars and peddles eightballs for ruthless Townie (Boston-speak for
Charlestown natives) mob boss with a love for cashmere named Jackie
O'Hara (Meaney, in a flashy, smug, all-too-brief supporting tour-de-force
reminiscent of Bob Hoskins' early stuff). Bobby's also screwing Jackie's
moll Katy behind his back (Famke, in a role Kelly Lynch opted out of at
the last moment to do "Mr. Magoo" instead!). When two of Bobby's crew are
wasted by Jackie for knowing too much and being potential rats,
Charlestown reacts the way it is infamous for: adhering to its Code of
Silence. Window shades are drawn, nobody saw nuthin', and suddenly
everybody (24 guys!) are all in the men's room when the shooting happens.
Martin Sheen has a by-the-numbers, glorified cameo as a Boston detective
disgusted by the way his Irish brethren are adhering to this "bullshit"
code and how the drugs and the guns have ruined the old neighborhood.
With the police pressing him and with Jackie displaying that all life is
expendable in his eyes, Bobby is forced to grow up fast, reevaluate his
life, and choose between fleeing the only world he's ever known or
confronting Jackie and his gunsels. You can imagine which option Bobby
chooses. There are several hilarious sequences early on that involve
Bobby and his pals having all-night, cocaine-fueled, paranoid rant
sessions about movie stars and tits; the adolescent manner in which his
crew approaches crime is also quite funny. Shot on a shoestring budget by
DP Adam Kimmel (Demme's constant collaborator), it's dark, gritty, grainy
filmmaking that really captures the washed-out look of the blue collar
Boston neighborhoods. It really nails the ennui (French -- sorry!!) of
wasted days and wasted nights as a low-level loser in a dead-end part of
town.

There are some cliches and underdeveloped characters in this film,
though: Sheen's cop is one-note; Colm Meaney imbues Jackie with more
presence than he probably had on the page; Jeanne Tripplehorn has an
inexplicable and forgettable cameo -- they put her name on the poster
like she's in a starring role -- why did she take this three minute
girl-in-a bar role anyway? You didn't need a star for it. Noah Emmerich
is always cool to watch but should have had more to do; after "The Truman
Show", this role's a bit too down-sized for him. As for the performances?
Leary finally gets a role that shows his range and dramatic possibilities
(he was a theater major at Emerson College and has actually performed
Shakespeare, believe it or not); if the old adage that comedians make
fine dramatic actors holds true (Robin Williams, Michael Keaton, William
Powell, SNL's Randy Quaid and Robert Downey, Jr, Kevin Spacey used to be
a stand-up), then Leary's on the road to better things than "Gunmen" and
"Operation: Dumbo Drop". Ian Hart is funny and moving as Leary's sidekick
Mouse. Famke continues to show she's more than another exotic, gorgeous
face/body; I think she's got a great shot at a Michelle Pfeiffer level of
respect and stardom if she keeps choosing her projects right (no more
"Deep Risings"!). Again, Meaney did quite well with an underwritten role
(his character was introduced in the script as "your stereotypical
gangster" -- never a good choice of words by a screenwriter to describe
their characters!). Billy Crudup has a great albeit VERY brief turn as a
junkie/childhood friend of Bobby's. And whoever played Leary's mother is
a great find; she's really the essence of the film. By the way, the
wardrobe people nailed the look of our local mobsters just right. No
"GoodFellas" schtick. They all look like the barflies they really are.
And no one overdoes the Boston accent here; the best job of doing it
since "The Friends of Eddie Coyle", which cast and crew openly
acknowledge as this film's biggest influence.

"Monument Ave" is a poignant, funny, gripping indie about lives with
greater potential that are wasted because of crime and the trappings of
the "never leave your neighborhood" mentality (which I know all too well
from growing up a blue collar, Irish-American Bostonian). It's NOT a
downer, though; Demme and Leary's comedic instincts prevent them from
going into the nihilistic mode the Hughes brothers embrace in their
similarly-themed films. People outside of Boston will relate to and enjoy
this film despite its provincial trappings because of the immediacy of
Demme's direction and the compelling performances by the leads. But the
film needs the word of mouth to pick up steam, which my gut tells me
won't happen because these small films are getting lost in the shuffle
more now that the indie market's rather glutted (esp. with
gangland-themed projects). That would be a shame for a well-crafted and
enjoyable film like "Monument Ave." It opens in NY, Boston, and LA on
Sept. 25th and in a platform release across the country a week after
that. Spread the word, Harry. This one's worth a look-see. --

Thanks,
STAX