Quentin Tarantino was casting a long shadow on the world of American independent cinema in 1990s. That included Saul Rubinek, renowned character actor (who also appeared in Tarantino-scripted True Romance), whose 1998 directorial debut Jerry and Tom can easily be described as Tarantinoesque black comedy.
The film is based on the play by Richard Cleveland, who also wrote the screenplay. The plot deals with Tom (played by Joe Mantegna), one of the employees of used car dealership who showed his young colleague and protege Jerry (played by Sam Rockwell) how he actually earns his living. He is a hitman who kills people for his gangster boss Billy (played by Maury Chaykin). He recruits Jerry as his assistant and young man through years becomes equally skilful in killings. However, Jerry also shows increasing tendency towards unnecessary violence, which doesn’t sit well with his mentor, who insists on their job being done with at least some modicum of professional ethics.
Rubinek apparently learned a lot of numerous films sets and as director he handles some technical problems very well. This includes non-linear narrative and seamless transition between various time periods. However, it is the only thing that looks truly impressive in Jerry and Tom. Inevitable comparisons with Pulp Fiction, another black comedy about pair of seamingly mismatched hitmen, would predictably make Rubinek’s film look quite inferior. Rubinek, on the other hand, has quite an impressive cast made of good character actors like Mantegna, Rockwell, Peter Riegert, Charles Durning and William H. Macy, but the situations and dialogues given by Richard Cleveland are beneath their level. While the film provides some black humour in the first half and features some homages to Tarantino, jokes in the second half become repetitive and unfunny, culminating in disappointing finale. While watchable, Jerry and Tom leaves audience with impression that the director and cast could have invested their talents into something much better.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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