DVD REVIEW: LAKE CITY

posted on
04.25.2009

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STUDIO: Screen Media
MSRP: $24.98
RATED: R
RUNNING TIME: 92 min
SPECIAL FEATURES:

Nothing

The Pitch

A deadbeat skips town with his kid to keep his ass from getting whacked.

The Humans

Sissy Spacek, Troy Garity, Rebecca Romijn, Dave Matthews and Drea de Matteo

The Nutshell

Troy Garity can’t headline a movie. The offspring of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden doesn’t have an ounce of personality. Honestly, anyone else could’ve done something with this film. So much is thrown on Garity’s shoulders, that you see Sissy Spacek try to swoop in for the last two thirds of the film. It’s the painful collapse of a B-movie on the back of a guy who barely kept from blending into the background during Barbershop.

Pepper Dennis: The Next Generation.

The Lowdown

Billy has been having a rough time. His last girlfriend has skipped town and stuck him with a kid. Dave Matthews aka Red is a rather rough customer that is cruising to kill Billy. Billy and non-descript kid skip town and head back to Lake City. Lake City is the home of Billy’s mother. There he discovers the simpleness of small-town laugh. That is until Dave Matthews finds out about it and decides to kick a little ass.

Lake City doesn’t bring anything new to the table. It’s a low-rent throwback to the kind of 70s films that were made as fronts for the mob or porn companies. Douchebags trying to have a character moment where they can redefine themselves as better people. You throw in a duo of veteran actors that need a paycheck and you match that with C-list actors who can’t muster a fuck about their careers. The final reel is always the big action piece that cribs a ton of material from better filmmakers.

The film is uncomfortable in every sense of the word. There is no effort made by the writers or director to make the switch to the Lake City setting work. Dave Matthews works his ass off and chews the scenery with a special kind of glee. It’s just that Matthews’ character is ridiculous and doesn’t work in the world of Lake City. Hell, take a look at the final chase through the corn field.

If I wanted to see a Bruckheimer action rip, I’d see what the hell Jack Abramhoff produced as a tax shelter. So much of this film actually masks what are the fundamentals of a good thriller. But, seeing a good thriller in this day and age is like seeing a Narwahl blow a Unicorn. It only exists in the minds of demented individuals dreaming of better days. Fuck this movie for putting that image in my head.

Lake City comes to DVD with a rather weak
offering. There’s no special features, but I didn’t expect any. Hell, I’d be surprised if this cheapie production even had time to cut a trailer. Much less any cash or film to spare for such a cinematic dignity. In the end, you get what was put into the production. Nothing.