Made 

A Film Review by Kevin Alexander

Ricky and Bobby are the type of wannabe gangsters that seem to have been taught by watching Goodfellas and The Godfather over and over. And don’t think for a second that they ever miss an episode of "The Sopranos". They’re small guys living in their own gigantic little world. Bobby is the endearing, loving guy who wants only to be successful at something so that he can provide for his stripper girlfriend Jessica (Famke Janssen) and her daughter. Ricky is Bobby’s never-do-well best friend and it has been that way since long before we ever met them. Ricky has a funny habit of saying the worst possible thing at the worst possible time. The timing on his actions isn’t much better either.

There’s a moment in this film when Ricky (Vince Vaughn) is trying to make Bobby (Jon Favreau) understand his reasoning behind why they should be "strapped". His arms are flying around his body and his mouth is going a-mile-a-minute with his two theories spilling out. They’re in New York City’s Central Park zoo near the penguin tank and Bobby is simply staring at him while the penguins chirp and scatter about. He listens intently like any life long friend would and waits for him to finish. When Ricky finally shuts up he plainly informs him, "You’re not getting a gun." And such is their friendship.

When the film begins we see Bobby and Ricky in a small time boxing match. They are not very good and the crowd has no problem telling them so. When Bobby gets home from the match he immediately takes Jessica to a bachelor party where his jealousy gets him in trouble with the her booker, Max (Peter Falk).

Max ends up pulling Bobby from driving Jessica and decides to give him his chance at the big time, or at least it’s big time to Bobby. The job is simple: fly to New York and make a delivery. It’s easy enough until Bobby’s loyalty forces him to convince Max to let him bring Ricky with him. Once in New York they meet their driver Jimmy (Vincent Pastore) who will indirectly hook them up with Ruiz (Sean "Puffy / Puff Daddy / P-Diddy" Combs).

Before their even out of California Ricky’s mouth and manner are getting them in trouble with an unfortunate flight attendant in one of the film’s funnier scenes. Ricky’s actions lead them into more dangerous and sticky situations once they’re on the job.

Favreau and Vaughn’s dynamic in this film is much like their banter in 1996’s cult classic Swingers. These two really know each other and they have complete faith in each other’s abilities. Vaughn’s performance is priceless in terms of how he balances stretching the character just before he becomes unbelievable, making his performance perfect. Favreau, lending his talents to producing, writing, directing and starring in the film, really knows how to make this film click.

Made works because of the way he plays out the situations he put the characters in. It’s not so much their actions as their reactions to the situations and how they lead them to what’s next. I also liked the way the characters react to their own lives and style. What is small and meaningless to most of us is big-time and life altering to them. In the hands of someone who didn’t care as much about it, this film could have been a real mess. Instead it is a highly entertaining, darkly comic caper.

© 2001 Kevin Alexander

The King's Room