''The Almost Guys'' is a 2004 American
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
written and directed by Eric Fleming, produced by Andrea Michaud and starring an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
. It was filmed on 35mm in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. Film locations included Los Angeles, Lancaster, Long Beach, Upland and Downey. Worldwide rights to the independently produced film were acquired by
National Lampoon.
Plot synopsis
Rick Murphy and his 73-year-old partner known only as "The Colonel" work for a repossession company. During their latest repossession of a car, they find Jim Maxwell, a famous baseball pitcher, inside the trunk of the car. As it turns out, Rick and the Colonel repossessed the car of two members of the "Mob" who were in the middle of kidnapping Jim. As the World Series is only three days away, the repo men must get Jim back to his baseball team before the "Mob" catches up with them.
Cast
*
Robert Culp
Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...
- The Colonel; Rick's 73-year-old partner.
* Eric Fleming - Rick Murphy; a luckless repo man and the protagonist.
*
Shawnee Smith
Shawnee Rebecca Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her portrayal of Amanda Young in the Saw (franchise), ''Saw'' franchise (2004–2010), which established her as a "scream queen" and as an influential f ...
- Bigger; Jim's ex-girlfriend.
* James Edson - Jim Maxwell; a baseball pitcher.
*
Oliver Davis - Buddy Murphy; Rick's son.
* Tae-Joon Lee - The Monk; a Korean man who had his car repossessed by Rick and the Colonel in the beginning of the movie.
*
Lin Shaye
Linda Shaye (born October 12, 1943) is an American film, television, and theater actress. In a career spanning over forty years, she has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is perhaps best known for her starring role as Elise Rain ...
- The Repo Boss; the boss of Re-Police, the repossession company Rick and the Colonel work for.
* Peter Allas - Massimo #1; one of the two members of the "Mob."
* Peter Arpesella - Massimo #2; one of the two members of the "Mob."
*
Susan Egan
Susan Farrell Egan (born February 18, 1970) is an American actress, singer and dancer, known for her work on the Broadway stage. She is best known for originating the role of Belle in the Broadway musical adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1 ...
- Suzanne Murphy; Rick's ex-wife.
* Tom Lenoci - Gentle Ben; a man who lives with Suzanne, much to Rick's chagrin.
* Satoshi Nakagawa - The Monk's Friend; a companion of the Monk who appears late in the movie.
Release and critical reception
The film premiered in February, 2005 at the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
Aspen Comedy film festival.
''The Almost Guys'' screened at several film festivals, including HBO,
Cinequest Film Festival
The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...
,
Sonoma Valley Film Festival
Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization dedicated to promoting the best in independent film and filmmakers from around the world, inspiring savvy film lovers and introducing the power of film to stude ...
,
Boston Film Festival
Boston Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival held in Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It has been held annually since 1984, usually in early September.
The Boston Film Festival premiered such notable films as '' The Last Kiss'' ...
,
Jacksonville Film Festival
The Jacksonville Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2002, the festival screens in competition and out-of-competition American and international independent films. According to the '' Daily Record'', ...
and
Palm Beach International Film Festival
The Palm Beach International Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Palm Beach, Florida which showcases over 120 films annually in April for over 20,000 attendees. It was recently ranked by the international movie publicatio ...
. A limited US theatrical release followed in April, 2006.
''The Almost Guys'' was chosen for an
IFP New Film Works screening at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles.
''The Almost Guys'' has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Review aggregate
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reports that 60% of critics have given the film a positive review.
Film Threat
''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
magazine awarded the film 4 stars. Colin Covert of the
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
stated, "The Almost Guys is completely charming... Fleming brings a feeling of loose, lively fun to the story. He writes funny characters, funny dialogue and funny situations."
References
Additional sources
*
External links
TheAlmostGuyNationTheAlmostGuys iTunesTheAlmostGuys HuluTheAlmostGuy: Interview with Eric Fleming
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almost Guys
American comedy films
2004 films
2004 comedy films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films