Out of Sight

Hi there, movie friend!!

I have a few movies on VHS that are so worn out, they don't play evenly any more. And I'm not talking about being faded in just one spot- like when Kevin Kline's wife, Phoebe Cates, steps out of Judge Reinhold's swimming pool in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."   No, I mean where my whole movie is warped. I keep thinking at any time these VHS movies will get eaten like my old 8 tracks, or even some of my cassette audio tapes. But that usually only happened in my car...

One of these movies is, "Out of Sight," with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. Again, I'm guessing this movie came out about 2000 or so.  It is chock full of great characters.Ving Rhames plays Clooney's side kick with a huge idiosyncrasy. Steve Zahn plays Steve Zahn-- but he does it so well. Catherine Keener plays an unlikely airhead (I'm so used to her wit and sarcasm in most of her performances- a ditz is quite the departure). 

Luiz Guzman cracks me up as a 2 (maybe 3, 4 or 5) time loser. Albert Brooks whines like no one else I know- save Charles Grodin-- but in this small dose, I can appreciate his talent. Dennis Farina plays Jennifer's dad and Michael Keaton plays her boyfriend. They play off eachother so well-- I would love to see their deleted scenes and outtakes.  Of course, I don't have them on VHS, and I have yet to see the DVD. But something tells me the transfer of the movie will not include those kind of pearls.

Another gem in this movie is the character played by Don Cheadle.  If you haven't gained an appreciation for this guy, you need to see some more movies until you do. I love Dennis Farina, but he plays the same character in everything-- you have to really pay attention to know if he's playing a good guy or a bad guy. I love him, regardless, but I can't say Dennis shows range. 

Range is Don Cheadle playing a thug in "Out of Sight." Range is Cheadle playing an enlightened crime boss living in The Bahamas in, "After the Sunset,"  then playing a complicated devout Muslim in "Traitor." From "Iron Man" to "Hotel Rwanda;" from, "Crash" to "Hotel for Dogs," Don Cheadle works his craft. And then he has some fun in the "Ocean 11" series.

"Out of Sight" is really just a love story-- albeit with a twist.  George is a bank robber and Jennifer is the federal cop.  They were made for eachother, right? There is a ton of things going on around them, but all he really wants is a chance- and to not to go back to prison, of course. But you can't blame him for that, can you?

My hat is off to the entire cast for making such a simple story so enjoyable to watch. The movie bounces around from place to place and person to person, but I don't find it distracting. The banter even helped me believe each and every scene was plausible.

It's not a new release, and it probably doesn't have extras or bonus features, but the movie is a gem.  Check it out.  If you are one of the few who saw it, let me know what you thought.

Warm regards,
Fred T Wyrick