''Best Men'' is a 1997 American
crime comedy film
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but als ...
directed by
Tamra Davis
Tamra Davis (born January 22, 1962) is an American film, television and music video director.
Early life
Davis was born the second of four children in Studio City, California. She was exposed to the media industry at an early age by her grand ...
, and stars
Sean Patrick Flanery,
Luke Wilson
Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor. Wilson's prominent film roles have included '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Blue Streak'' (1999), '' My Dog Skip'' (2000), '' Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums' ...
,
Andy Dick,
Mitchell Whitfield
Mitchell Whitfield (born September 8, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Farber in ''Friends'' (1994–2000), Dr. Bruce Hampton in '' Minor Adjustments'' (1995–1996), and Stan Rothenstein in ''My Cousin Vinny'' ( ...
,
Fred Ward
Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American character actor. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', '' The Right Stuff'', '' Remo Wil ...
,
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...
and
Dean Cain
Dean George Cain ( né Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not! ...
.
In the film, a man's
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...
is set for the day of his release from prison. His four best friends will serve as
groomsmen
A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...
. One of the friends has recently started robbing banks, and he stops for another
bank robbery
Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...
on the way to the ceremony. The other men enter the bank after him and unwittingly create a
hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...
situation. The
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
takes over the
hostage negotiation. But the lead agent plans to execute all of the "robbers", and is not interested in the safety of the hostages.
The film received a brief theatrical release in the UK on March 27, 1998.
Plot
Four groomsmen are preparing for a wedding, donning tuxedos. Buzz, a former soldier, has a few handguns in his tuxedo, Teddy, a browbeaten house husband, is meticulously getting ready, Sol, a former criminal lawyer now specializing in divorce, dresses neatly while Billy, a failing actor, is shown watching a newscast. The reporter describes a recent bank robbery where the robber recited works by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
before escaping.
All four meet up, walking towards the prison where Jesse is being released after three years for an unspecified crime. Sol and Jesse have a heated argument as Sol's error as his attorney led to Jesse's incarceration.
Jesse is marrying Hope, surrounded by his best friends. En route to the ceremony, Billy asks them to pull over near a bank. He commences to rob it (he is the Shakespeare robber from the earlier newscast). As he finishes, reciting Shakespeare, Buzz comes in to hurry him up, stopping the robbery, unveiling Billy in the process. The others then walk in, inadvertently creating a hostage situation. When the police arrive, they realise their predicament: they are all accomplices, facing serious prison time.
However, the bank customers bond with the five unlikely robbers. Outside the bank Billy's dad, Sheriff Philips, demands he surrenders, mocking him for being a failure. Billy confronts him, refusing. Inside the bank, it's suggested that Billy release some of the hostages. One of them, Gonzo suggests they request a chopper land on the roof so he can fly them to safety. Buzz bonds with Gonzo, a Vietnam veteran, he tells him his life dream was to serve in the military but, being gay, he was not allowed to. Seeing his pain, he gifts Buzz his military jacket. Outside the FBI arrives to take over the hostage negotiation.
Lead agent Hoover shows little regard for the hostages, planning to execute the five robbers as they exit the bank. Sheriff Philips approaches the bank and Billy finally confronts his father for being a lousy parent. He realises he was never there for his son. Billy agrees to allow some of the hostages to go, Gonzo amongst them. All of the freed hostages refuse to identify Billy or his friends.
The gang negotiates for Jesse and Hope to be married in the bank; Hoover agrees for a priest to go in and perform the ceremony. During the wedding, the priest turns out to be a federal agent, and Teddy and Buzz are shot during a struggle. Teddy, feeling like the bank robbery has woken him up, refuses to be sent to the hospital for urgent care but eventually acquiesces. Buzz patches his wound and the guys plot their exit from the bank.
Sol goes outside, negotiating a deal with Hoover to get everyone out. As he re-enters the bank, Hoover orders his men to gun them down. Sol and the guys, with the remaining hostages, leave the bank draped in a giant American flag. The snipers, unable to pick out the guys, refuse to shoot indiscriminately (or shoot at the flag). As everyone enters the bus, Sol tells Jesse he's sorry and Hope forgives him. He then steps off the bus and announces the deal he brokered involved him surrendering to save Jesse and the guys. Hoover, however, reneges on the deal; Sol holds him at gunpoint so the police cars let the bus go. As the bus leaves, he is shot and killed by the snipers. Sheriff Philips then blocks the feds with his police cruiser, giving Billy time to get away.
As the bus heads to the local airport, the feds start to catch up, and Buzz drives it off the main road. Gonzo then appears in a military helicopter and Jesse and Hope escape onto the chopper. However, Billy and Buzz are unable to, remaining behind. Surrounded by the feds, in a final bloody shootout, the two best friends die but not before Buzz gets off a shot killing Hoover.
The film ends with Jesse and Hope playing with a son some years later on a beach in Mexico.
Cast
*
Dean Cain
Dean George Cain ( né Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor. From 1993 to 1997, he played Clark Kent / Superman in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. Cain was the host of '' Ripley's Believe It or Not! ...
as Sergeant Buzz Thomas
*
Andy Dick as Teddy Pollack
*
Sean Patrick Flanery as Billy Phillips
*
Mitchell Whitfield
Mitchell Whitfield (born September 8, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Farber in ''Friends'' (1994–2000), Dr. Bruce Hampton in '' Minor Adjustments'' (1995–1996), and Stan Rothenstein in ''My Cousin Vinny'' ( ...
as Sol Jacobs
*
Luke Wilson
Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor. Wilson's prominent film roles have included '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Blue Streak'' (1999), '' My Dog Skip'' (2000), '' Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''The Royal Tenenbaums' ...
as Jesse Reilly
*
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...
as Hope
*
Fred Ward
Freddie Joe Ward (December 30, 1942 – May 8, 2022) was an American character actor. Starting with a role in an Italian television movie in 1973, he appeared in such diverse films as '' Escape from Alcatraz'', '' The Right Stuff'', '' Remo Wil ...
as Sheriff Bud Phillips
*
Raymond J. Barry as Agent Hoover
*
Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Chucky in the ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present), portraying Gríma Wormtongue in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, and his Academy A ...
as John "Gonzo" Coleman
* Tracy Fraim as Cuervo
*
Biff Yeager as Mayor Boar
* Art Edler Brown as Agent Carter
*
K. K. Dodds as Cindy Vargas
*
Kathryn Joosten
Kathryn Joosten (; December 20, 1939 – June 2, 2012) was an American actress. Her best known roles include Delores Landingham on NBC's ''The West Wing'' from 1999 to 2002 and Karen McCluskey on ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' from 2005 to 201 ...
as Edie
* Dee Maaske as Dorothy
Reception
On the review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 13% based on 8 reviews.
Reviewing the film for ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', critic Derek Elley praised the cast and said "At heart, 'Best Men' is a modest picture that harks back in many ways to U.S. movies of the late '60s and early '70s in its unconventional attitudes and anti-establishment tone. Pacing never lingers, and, unlike in '
Guncrazy,' there’s no narrative fat; at the same time, there isn’t much emotional residue either. In short, it’s simply a quality B movie."
References
External links
*
*
{{Tamra Davis
1997 films
1997 crime comedy films
1997 LGBTQ-related films
1990s heist films
American heist films
Films directed by Tamra Davis
Orion Pictures films
Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh
American crime comedy films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
Films about weddings in the United States
Films about bank robbery
Gay-related films
Films about father–son relationships
Films about hostage taking
Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation
American LGBTQ-related films
LGBTQ-related crime comedy films
English-language crime comedy films