''Kounterfeit'' is a 1996 American

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

starring

Bruce Payne Bruce Martyn Payne (born 22 November 1958) is an English actor, producer, screenwriter, film director and theatre director. Payne is best known for portraying villains, such as Charles Rane in '' Passenger 57'', Jacob Kell in '' Highlander: En ...

and

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

. ''Kounterfeit'' was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

John Mallory Asher John Mallory Asher (born John Mallory, January 13, 1971) is an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for his performance as Gary on the USA Network's series spinoff of the movie '' Weird Science''. Early life ...

and

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

David Chase David Henry Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American filmmaker. He wrote and produced the HBO drama ''The Sopranos'' which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2007. Chase has also produced and written for such shows as ''The Rockford File ...

Katherine Fugate Katherine Fugate (born July 14, 1965) is an American film and television writer and producer. Biography She graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and a minor in Journalism from University of California, Riverside. Fugate and her aunt, the actre ...

and Jay Irwin.

Plot summary

A counterfeiter of money is attacked by two masked men and threatened to reveal where a certain amount of counterfeit money is. The counterfeiter pleads ignorance and is subsequently killed. Tommy 'Hopscotch' Hopkins, who has the money, learns of the death of the counterfeiter and begins to fear for his own safety. Consequently, he asks his friend, the street smart and "seasoned former criminal" Frankie (who owns a strip club), to assist him in an exchange of the fake money for real money which he has organised with some acquaintances. Frankie reluctantly agrees to assist his friend. During the exchange, an undercover police officer, Danny, is killed in a shootout. The shootout is witnessed by Danny's sister Colleen, who was hiding in the house. Distraught, she mistakenly believes that Frankie killed her brother. Colleen becomes frustrated with her ex-boyfriend, Vic, whose investigation into Danny's murder proceeds slowly, and decides to undertake her own investigation.

Main cast

as Colleen *

as Frankie *

Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series '' L.A. Law'',

as Marty Hopkins *

Mark-Paul Gosselaar Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (; born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles, most notably as Zack Morris in ''Saved by the Bell''. In 1991, he won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Pri ...

as Paco/Danny * Gil Bernardy as Counterfeiter * Andrew Hawkes as Tommy 'Hopscotch' Hopkins * Michael Gross as Captain Evans * Rob Stewart as Vic *

Elizabeth Gracen Elizabeth Ward Gracen (born Elizabeth Grace Ward, April 3, 1961) is an Americans, American actress and beauty pageant contestant who won the title of Miss America in 1982. Early life and education Elizabeth Grace Ward was born on April 3, 19 ...

as Bridgette * Ben Foster as Travis * Doug McKeon as Patron * Jay Irwin as Contact 1 * Brad James as Contact 2 Bruce Payne and Elizabeth Gracen both played Immortals in the popular Highlander franchise.

Reception

The TV Guide website has given the film a rating of 2.5 out of 4. A reviewer for the ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' stated that 'Frankie's slablike features and seedy-cool demeanor initially makes him just one outsized thug among many, but Payne gradually warms up the protagonist and balances nicely against Hawkes's scenery-chewing

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films ''Rag ...

act'. Matt Spector stated that the film 'is enjoyable with enough action scenes and twists and turns to keep the audience interested'. A different reviewer stated that 'the ungainly script is low on both ideas and excitement'. Mick Martin and Marsha Porter described the film as a 'mildly diverting tale of two low life hoods'. Dragan Antulov stated that 'the plot recycles many obligatory elements of low budget crime movies (vengeance as the prime motive for one of the protagonist, good guys who don't turn out so good at the end) and combines them with Tarantinoesque portrayal of small time criminals as protagonists'. VPRO Cinema awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars. A reviewer for ''

Film Review Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlet ...

'' stated that ' Payne oozes charisma in a film which delivers plenty of cheap thrills but few surprises'. Edmond Grant stated that the film's 'involved skullduggery holds few surprises in the end'. Joe Corey stated that the film 'seems like a cheap ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...

'' knock-off minus the golden talents of

Philip Michael Thomas Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...

'. Nonetheless, Corey praised the acting of

, stating that she 'is the reason this film deserves to be seen' as 'she does her best to give life to a character that barely reads on the page' and 'seems very calm dealing with a script that over twists itself with the subterfuge'.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0113037, title=Kounterfeit 1996 crime thriller films 1996 films American crime thriller films Counterfeit money in film 1990s English-language films 1990s American films