Jerry and Tom

Last updated

Jerry and Tom
Jerry and Tom (1998 film).jpg
DVD cover of Jerry and Tom
Directed by Saul Rubinek
Written by Rick Cleveland
Based onJerry and Tom
by Rick Cleveland
Produced by
  • Elinor Reid
  • Vivienne Leebosh
  • Michael Paseornek
  • Saul Rubinek
Starring
Cinematography Paul Sarossy
Edited bySloane Klevin
Music byDavid Buchbinder
Production
company
Distributed byLions Gate Films
Release date
  • January 19, 1998 (1998-01-19)(Sundance)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Jerry and Tom is a 1998 American black comedy crime film directed by Saul Rubinek in his directorial debut. The screenplay was adapted by Rick Cleveland from his own 1994 one-act play. The film stars Joe Mantegna and Sam Rockwell as contract killers who work at a used car dealership. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1998, and, after Miramax declined to release it theatrically, aired on Showtime.

Contents

Plot

Hit men Tom and Jerry wait in a Chicago bar for the go-ahead to kill Stanley. Anxious to get the hit done, Jerry suggests they perform the hit immediately; Tom refuses, and Stanley entertains them with jokes. As the phone rings, the film shifts to a flashback set ten years earlier, in 1984. Jerry, a youth employed at Billy's used car dealership, joins Tom as he walks with Karl. Karl describes how a local gangster bit off the nose of Karl's nephew. Disturbed by the audaciousness and brutality of the attack, Tom promises to look into the issue. However, Karl becomes spooked when they enter Tom's car, and Karl begins bargaining with Tom, to Jerry's confusion. Tom agrees that the two are friends with a long history but strangles Karl after an apology. Jerry throws up but insists that he is otherwise fine.

Tom's next hit involves a trip out of state. Jerry tags along, and when he becomes surly, Tom allows him to accompany him to the site of the hit itself, a cinema. There, they meet an unnamed man who becomes annoyed with their loud conversation in which Jerry describes a domestic dispute with his girlfriend, Deb. The man in the cinema tells them the story about how he and his fiancée, Vicki, the star of the low budget action film he is watching, angered the mob. After hit men assassinate Vicki via a weapons mishap on the set, he goes into hiding and loses his will to live. Moved by the story, Jerry decides to marry his girlfriend, and the two hit men rise to leave. Jerry is surprised when Tom slits the throat of the man, and Tom admonishes him to not get so emotionally involved in the stories of their victims.

On Jerry's first kill, the two track their victim to a Chinese restaurant. Nervous, Jerry becomes paranoid and makes a spectacle of himself in front of the victim. To calm him, Tom describes Ronald Reagan's final acting performance, a cold-blooded hit man in The Killers . Enthused by the thought of following in Reagan's footsteps, Jerry is able to relax and make his first kill. Later, as the two wait for their next hit, Tom tells Jerry about their co-worker, Vic, who is rumored to have had an affair with Marilyn Monroe and assassinated John F. Kennedy. When the target arrives, Jerry asks to make the hit himself, and Tom impatiently watches as Jerry awkwardly attempts to make a clean kill. After Jerry simply pulls out the pistol and shoots the man head-on, they leave.

Tom and Jerry join Vic for a meal, which Vic has prepared himself. During the conversation, Vic reveals that he intends to publish his memoirs. After Vic describes a feature film adaptation and talk show appearances that he has planned, the trio argue over the appropriateness of such actions and who should play each of them in a film. Tom suggests Don Knotts for Jerry, who becomes offended that the others do not take him seriously. Jerry pulls out a syringe and explains that he is diabetic, only to suddenly stab Vic with it. Surprised and angered, Tom castigates Jerry for killing Vic in such an undignified manner, as they had previously planned to take Vic out back and shoot him after he finished with his dinner, a death that Tom considered more proper for an assassin of Vic's stature.

In their final hit, Jerry panics and accidentally murders an innocent bystander. He then tells a disturbed Tom of how he occasionally fantasizes about killing his family, eventually admitting that he has pointed a loaded weapon at his infant son's head. In the present, the phone rings, and Tom reluctantly answers it; he is given the go-ahead and kills Jerry. After Tom unties Stanley, Stanley reveals that he has been tasked with killing Tom. The film ends as Stanley asks Tom if he knows any good jokes.

Cast

Production

Director Rubinek described the film as influenced by Harold Pinter. He stated that he wanted to avoid showing gratuitous violence onscreen in order to comment on its use in other films. [1]

Release

The film premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, where it was sold to Miramax. When the film did not test well enough with audiences, Miramax declined to distribute the film theatrically. The US cable television channel Showtime picked it up and aired it in November 1999. [2] It was released in the US on home video in August 2000. [1]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 75% of eight surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 8.5/10. [3] Todd McCarthy of Variety called it "very well acted and beautifully directed". [4] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called it a superior Quentin Tarantino knockoff that "is still just another knockoff". [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Crying Game</i> 1992 film by Neil Jordan

The Crying Game is a 1992 crime thriller film, written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley and Nik Powell, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores themes of race, sex, nationality, and sexuality against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

<i>Sling Blade</i> 1996 US drama film by Billy Bob Thornton

Sling Blade is a 1996 American drama film written, directed by and starring Billy Bob Thornton. Set in Arkansas, it is the story of intellectually challenged Karl Childers and the friendship he develops with a boy and his mother. Karl was released from a psychiatric hospital where he had grown up due to having killed his mother and her lover when he was 12 years old. It also stars Dwight Yoakam, J. T. Walsh, John Ritter, Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, James Hampton, and Robert Duvall.

<i>Gangs of New York</i> 2002 film directed by Martin Scorsese

Gangs of New York is a 2002 American epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1927 book The Gangs of New York. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Cameron Diaz, along with Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan, Brendan Gleeson, and Liam Neeson in supporting roles.

<i>It</i> (novel) 1986 novel by Stephen King

It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his 22nd book and the 17th novel written under his own name. The story follows the experiences of seven children as they are terrorized by an evil entity that exploits the fears of its victims to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown to attract its preferred prey of young children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Mantegna</span> American actor (born 1947)

Joseph Anthony Mantegna is an American actor. He has starred in the CBS television series Criminal Minds since 2007 as FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. He has voiced the recurring role of mob boss Fat Tony on the animated series The Simpsons, beginning with the 1991 episode "Bart the Murderer", as well as The Simpsons Movie (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Rabin</span> South African musician (born 1954)

Trevor Charles Rabin is a South African musician, songwriter, and film composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a variety of artists. In 1972, he joined the rock band Rabbitt, which enjoyed considerable success in South Africa, and released his first solo album, Beginnings. In 1978, Rabin moved to London to further his career, working as a solo artist and a producer for various artists including Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

<i>The Boondock Saints</i> 1999 film by Troy Duffy

The Boondock Saints is a 1999 American-Canadian vigilante action thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy in his feature directorial debut. Starring Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, and Billy Connolly, the film follows Irish fraternal twin brothers Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian mafia in self defense. After both experience an epiphany, the twins, together with their best friend "Funny Man" Rocco (Rocco), set out on a mission to rid Boston of the criminal underworld in the name of God, all the while being pursued by FBI Special Agent Paul Smecker (Dafoe).

<i>Red Hot Riding Hood</i> 1943 American animated short film directed by Tex Avery

Red Hot Riding Hood is an animated cartoon short subject, directed by Tex Avery and released with the movie Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case on May 8, 1943, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994, it was voted number 7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, making it the highest ranked MGM cartoon on the list. It is one of Avery's most popular cartoons, inspiring several of his own "sequel" shorts as well as influencing other cartoons and feature films for years afterward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saul Rubinek</span> Canadian actor and director (born 1948)

Saul Hersh Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright.

<i>Dust Devil</i> (film) 1992 horror film by Richard Stanley

Dust Devil is a 1992 British horror film written and directed by Richard Stanley. The film stars Robert Burke as Hitch, a mysterious man who wanders the deserts in Namibia and is wanted by the police in connection with the death of a woman whose blood was used in a supernatural ceremony. It is believed by a local sangoma that Hitch is a "Dust Devil", a supernatural creature that can change its form. Hitch encounters Wendy played by Chelsea Field, who drives with him along a highway as she is pursued by her estranged husband. As police begin investigating the murders, they seem to trace back to Hitch and Wendy discovers the man has supernatural powers.

<i>The Benchwarmers</i> 2006 American film

The Benchwarmers is a 2006 American sports-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allen Covert and Nick Swardson, and produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovitz, Craig Kilborn, Molly Sims, and Tim Meadows, with Swardson, Erinn Bartlett, Amaury Nolasco, Bill Romanowski, Sean Salisbury, Matt Weinberg, John Farley, Reggie Jackson, and Joe Gnoffo in supporting roles. It tells the story of three nerds and a billionaire forming a titular baseball team to take on Little League teams.

<i>The Prophecy II</i> 1998 American film

The Prophecy II is a 1998 American fantasy-action-horror film and the second installment in The Prophecy series. Christopher Walken reprises his role as the Archangel Gabriel. It was directed by Greg Spence and written by Spence and Matthew Greenberg.

<i>The Proposition</i> (2005 film) 2005 Australian Western

The Proposition is a 2005 Australian Western film directed by John Hillcoat and written by screenwriter and musician Nick Cave. It stars Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, John Hurt, Danny Huston and David Wenham. The film's production completed in 2004 and was followed by a wide 2005 release in Australia and a 2006 cinematic run in the U.S. through First Look Pictures. The film was shot on location in Winton, Queensland.

<i>Albino Alligator</i> 1996 American film

Albino Alligator is a 1996 American crime thriller film. The directorial debut of Kevin Spacey as well as the screenwriting debut of Christian Forte, it stars Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, and Gary Sinise. It tells the story of three small-time criminals who take hostages after being cornered by the police. The title refers to an anecdote told in the film, claiming that alligators will use an albino among them as sacrifice, so that the opposing alligators will be distracted and become prey themselves.

<i>From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money</i> 1999 horror film

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money is an American direct-to-video Western horror film released on March 16, 1999. It is the second film in the From Dusk till Dawn series and is a sequel to From Dusk till Dawn. The film was an early test release by Dimension Films for the direct-to-video market. It was co-written and directed by Scott Spiegel. Michael S. Murphey, Gianni Nunnari, and Meir Teper produced. Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender executive produced, and Elizabeth Avellan co-produced. The film was filmed on location in South Africa and features cameos by Bruce Campbell and Tiffani Thiessen. It won a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films for the "Best Home Video Release" of 1999.

<i>Things Change</i> (film) 1988 American drama film by David Mamet

Things Change is a 1988 American comedy-drama film directed by David Mamet and starring Joe Mantegna and Don Ameche. It was co-written by Mamet and Shel Silverstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Wahlberg</span> American actor (born 1971)

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg, formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor and former rapper. His work as a leading man spans the comedy, drama, and action genres. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, nine Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<i>Striptease</i> (film) 1996 film by Andrew Bergman

Striptease is a 1996 American black comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Andrew Bergman, and starring Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Ving Rhames, Robert Patrick and Burt Reynolds. Based on Floridian crime writer Carl Hiaasen's 1993 best-selling novel of the same name, the film centers on an FBI secretary-turned-stripper who becomes involved in both a child-custody dispute and corrupt politics.

<i>Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon</i> 2014 American film

Tom and Jerry: The Lost Dragon is a 2014 animated fantasy comedy direct-to-video film starring Tom and Jerry, produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Directed and produced by Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone, it premiered on July 27, 2014, at San Diego Comic-Con. It is the first Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film to be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in Japan. It was originally released digitally on August 19, 2014, followed by a DVD release on September 2, 2014.

Hell's Bloody Devils is a 1970 American film directed by Al Adamson and written by Jerry Evans.

References

  1. 1 2 Liebenson, Donald (August 10, 2000). "Buried Treasure". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  2. ↑ Christiansen, Richard (January 24, 1999). "A Happy Ending (or Maybe Middle) For A Playwright". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Jerry and Tom (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ McCarthy, Todd (January 21, 1998). "Review: 'Jerry and Tom'". Variety . Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (May 29, 2002). "Jerry And Tom". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.