Walking into a movie that stars Luke Wilson usually means one thing, mediocrity. Typically, everything about his films is average, from the humor to the directing to the performances of the cast. Well I am happy to say that, for the first time in a long time, this was not the case when watching Middle Men, a story surrounding the birth of the online porn industry.
The film, directed and co-written by George Gallo (Bad Boys), stars Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, Gabriel Macht, Terry Crews, James Cann, Rade Serbedzjia, and Kevin Pollack.
Middle Men is about two men who manage to come up with the idea to sell adult entertainment over the internet. Wayne Beering, played by Ribisi, a crazy, disheveled cokehead, came up with the idea, while Gabriel Macht, who plays Buck Dolby the rocket scientist, was the one who was able to write the online coding. Essentially, they are the founders of internet commerce because they created the first code that allows people to put their credit card online resulting in hassle free transactions via the internet. The problem with these men is that they are complete idiots and have no idea how to run a business. This is where Luke Wilson, aka Jack Harris, comes in.
Jack Harris, a family man from Houston, is known for his keen ability to fix problems and was brought in to help Wayne and Buck organizes their business because they had the bright idea to partner with the Russian mob and now owe 25% of the profits to them. Harris then comes up with the idea to stop making their own porn content and simply become the middle men for people already making it, resulting in a boom of online porno sites. As the transaction facilitator nothing can go wrong, but when two of the founding idiots start to feel threatened by Harris’ success they start making side deals with other scumbags that puts everyone and everything in jeopardy. Jack eventually finds himself involved with a 23 year old porn star, the FBI, the Russian Mob and to top it all off, ends up being one of the richest entrepreneurs in the country-not bad huh? The best part about all of this is that it is based on a true story.
This movie has it all: Sex, greed, hot chicks, comedy, death, drama and pure ingenuity. The fact that this ridiculous story is true makes it all the more fascinating. Going into Middle Men I was pretty excited but didn’t hold my expectations to high because Wilson never seems to do much for me. After watching it though I can honestly say it was a very enjoyable movie that kept me engaged the entire time. Not only was the story fascinating but Gallo did such a great job with the pacing of the film that it left you with very little downtime. The way he worked the script allowed for a great balance between the character development and plot while eliminating all potentially worthless scenes resulting in a purely enjoyable cinematic experience.
Another plus side was that there were so many hot chicks in this film. Granted it was about the porn industry, but wow it was almost like the greatest soft-core porn you’ll ever see (there were quite a few topless scenes filled with some giant fake boobage).
In addition to the fun and interesting story, it was the solid acting that took this film to another level. Giovanni Ribisi was great as always. His portrayal of an angry/paranoid coked up pervert was unparalleled to any that I have ever seen while Gabriel Macht did a great job portraying the rocket scientist with the street smarts of a six month old. The two had wonderful chemistry together, bouncing off each other the entire film and giving the audience the required comic relief the film needed. The best part about the two guys was their love/hate relationship. They would get into fights in which they would literally battle each other resulting in hysterical insults and wild body slams.
Luke Wilson’s acting was a surprise to me. He nailed the part of Jack Harris and managed to come off as a player that shouldn’t be screwed with. Empathetic yet demanding, Wilson’s portrayal was believable and enjoyable, something that I haven’t been able to say about him for quite some time. He may not be the best actor but he surely gets his job done in this film.
The crowd loved this film, I loved this film, and I bet most of you will come to love this film. Middle Men tells the wild story about the founding of the online adult entertainment industry which is bound to peak your interest in some way shape or form. In a summer where interesting stories and fun cinema haven’t met much, out comes Middle Men to surprise and give you hope that this summer’s entertainment may not have vanished completely. Middle Men comes out August 6, 2010 so be sure to go check it out, I promise you won’t regret it.
Rating: A fun sexy ride through the birth of online porn.
Recent Comments