The fact is, this movie is a mess. Sure it has it’s moments and it has its Martinesque touches, especially the ending, but it basically doesn’t know what it wants to be.
It has action and violence which sometimes we are supposed to think is funny: every time a dead body shows up, Martin’s character slips on the blood and does a pratfall. At other times, we are waiting for the action to be funny but after it is set up, it never quite comes off. Then there are times when the action seems merely routine.
The story has twists, some are dramatic, some are funny but the audience is left detached and somewhat confused. The impression one gets is the script wasn’t very good to start with and that some good bits were thrown in during filming but there wasn’t enough in the end to make a good movie.
Martin shows us a one-dimensional character who manages to make a bad decision at every opportunity. His Dr. Sangster, a dentist, isn't very amusing or even interesting; he hardly ever changes his expression.
Helena Bonham Carter looks the part of a drugged-out waif and plays that role convincingly but we are at a loss to see her sex-appeal, especially to Martin’s straight-arrow dentist.
Laura Dern also does a great job as the neurotic dental assistant and fiancée of Dr. Sangster. She develops a complicated character very well.
Both women are in sex scenes with Dr. Sangster which lend little to the story and look like every other sex scene in the movies these days. Martin will never be convincing in a sex scene.
There are some great supporting performances from Lucina Paquet as a persevering office manager, James Chisem as the local cop being trailed around by an actor studying up on being a detective, and ? as an obsequious DEA agent.
Scott Caan is a convincing young tough. Elias Koteas plays a good low-life but it is hard for us to believe that this could really be the dentist’s brother. Kevin Bacon plays the actor/detective in an uncredited role (a good move on his part).
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