Paycheck: Both the film's title and why it exists

Paycheck (2003)
Starring: Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Paul Giamatti, and Colm Feore
Director: John Woo
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Industrial spy and computer engineer Michael Jennings (Affleck) agrees to work on a project so elaborate and top secret he'll have three entire years "cooked" from his brain by his partner (Giamatti) once he's done. However, instead of a big paycheck, Jennings finds assassins trying to kill him at the other end. Now, he has to recover what he's forgotten before it's too late, piecing together three years with only the minutes of clues.

I think that's a pretty accurate summary of this totally, utterly forgettable movie. I watched just three days ago, and I feel like it's been erased from my mind. I remember Affleck woefully inadequate acting talents being even more clearly on display when playing against real actors like Thurman and Giamatti (even though the latter had limited screen time). I remember a story so messy and full of holes that it resembled a block of swiss cheese being melted in the "brain cooker" device. I also remember John Woo (who once made the so-very-excellent action films "Hard Target" and "Hard Boiled") and feel a bit sad that he's reduced here to aping Hitchcock (in a way that's about as skillful as the way a chimp might mimick a person) and to desperately cramming his "signature visuals" into the film so it feels like he's almost parodying himself.

There's no doubt that everyone involved made this movie for no reason other than its title... they were looking for a paycheck, and they were hoping this messy pile would be forgotten as fast as one of Michael Jennings' special projects. It deserves to be forgotten, because its only saving grace is that it moves so fast that it's not until afterwards the audience fully realizes how awful a movie it is.

'The Wrong Guy' is the right viewing choice

The Wrong Guy (1997)
Starring: Dave Foley, Jennifer Tilly, Colm Feore, and David Anthony Higgins
Director: David Steinberg
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

After being passed over for promotion and publicly threatening to kill his boss, dimwitted corporate executive Nelson Hibbert (Foley) finds his boss murdered. Convinced that no one will believe he is innocent, Nelson goes on the run. He accidentally (and completely unknowingly) stumbles upon the real killer (Feore) and repeatedly leads the police to him as he tries to escape. While a fugitive from no-one, Nelson finds true love in the arms of a simple country banker's daughter (Tilly)... just as the real murderer decides it's time to get rid of his dogged pursuer.


"The Wrong Guy" is an undeservedly obscure comedy that spoofs "The Fugitive"-style crime thrillers in general and a recurring element in Alfred Hitchcock thrillers in particular--"the wrong man"/"wrongfully accused"--with Dave Foley portraying perhaps the most oblivious, hapless figure to ever flee the scene of a crime. Even moreso than the classic sitcom "News Radio" this movie shows what a great shame it is that Foley isn't a bigger star than he is.

Of course, it helps that Foley is working with a very funny and very well-written script that derives most of its humor from the fact that just about every character in the story is a complete moron. However, in addition to slapstick and lots of dumb humor, the film includes many well-executed spoofs of standard elements in thrillers, such as its climax atop the Statue of Liberty head. This cleverly constructed sequence is so well done that the audience becomes wrapped up in the excitement of a standard thriller set-piece, only to have the tension dissolve with laughter a split-second later as we're reminded that the final showdown is taking place on a mini-golf course.

Foley is supported by a great cast, with Colm Foere as the coldblooded professional hit man and Jennifer Tilly as a cute country girl with an unfortunate illness that manifests itself at the most inopportune (and funniest) moments. Tilly is a welcome presence in anything she does, but her quirky looks, unique voice, and offcenter character makes her the perfect on-screen companion for Foley's equally cute and quirky Nelson Hibbard. When the inevitable love plot appears, it's a perfect couple that the audience is instantly rooting for. I hope that Foley and Tilly will appear on-screen together again, because they are excellent together. "The Wrong Guy" is a great comedy that deserves more recognition than it has gotten.