Fast Food

Very interesting dreamlike story of a guy who is returning to his boyhood pals after being away for years. He finds they are still the same drinking, drug taking misfits that he left and he can't fit in anymore. As Benny walks in to the dump his friends still live in, one is bouncing on a huge ball in his bvd's. They are having a brilliant conversation about what character they get in something they are betting on, I think. When Benny picks Princess Diana, they get into a hilarious discussion and argument about the Royal family. I was laughing out loud.

This is funny/sad/violent and better than I thought it would be. The first conversation when the 4 friends compose a song "Benny's Back" to welcome him is very funny. Brilliant song. (I'm kidding!)
Benny's back
Been a long time
but Benny's back.
Night after night we waited;
now Benny's back.

We ate a lot
we drunk some beer;
Benny's back;
Played some records and cards.
Benny's back, Benny's back, Benny's back.

It's funnier because they are so serious.

Gerry Butler as Jacko, shoots the pizza man and matter-of-factly orders another. He is mean and menacing throughout and very much the character.The recurring deal with the pizza delivery is Jacko just using excuses (pineapple!) to get out of paying, IMO. After all, they all dig in and eat the 1st one. Jacko has no trouble hurting people, as the trip through the tunnel shows, as he bashes the guy with his own guitar. So when they order another pizza later in the film - and Jacko sees *fish* he screams "We don't eat fish" and they all go nuts. And Jacko shoots the deliveryman. And orders another pizza. This is what I mean about this film being surreal.

There are no people reporting gunshots. No cops. Nothing happens to these dudes. These dumb and dumber guys decide to get out of their circumstances by robbing the neighborhood candy store which is really a drug money operation.

Their trip to buy guns is very funny. They have a party where Benny is given too much to drink and some drugs and goes into a trance like state. The cover for the gun dealer is his 'Sushi Bar' where the guys are served blue drinks with little umbrellas. In trying out the guns it is obvious they will screw up - they don't know how to use them. Then they all go back and read Gun Magazines. Funny scene.

Benny is so upset with his friends he goes up on the roof and cries. He sees only one outcome and it's bad. Time has passed them by and their dreams are gone. From here on, even more than from the beginning setup shots, I wondered if we are to see this as real or a nightmare. Guns blaze, people are killed, but we see no cops, no other humans in the buildings or on the streets, no traffic, deserted subways; just the main characters and those they deal with. All the segments with the girl Letitia are soft focus, through a haze and too much light. Real or surreal?

When Benny and Letitia are rundown by the car - but in the next frame are up again - real or dream/nightmare? Some funny lines have worked their way into usage "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you." And "First rule of robbery? Pillage before you burn."

A small film that makes you think - or just turn it off. Take your pick. I liked it a lot. 8/10

As a prelude to seeing Gerard Butler in his latest gangster film, Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla, this is a pretty good effort. I looked up all the cast at IMDb and of the main characters, Gerry has made it the farthest. The female lead has worked steadily but mostly in TV. The actor playing Benny has done lots of stage plays. A few of the others have had lots of TV, Indy film and stage work. But all have worked only in England. Gerry just has, and had, something. It will be fun to see how he has progressed as a comic gangster from Fast Food to RockNRolla.