Release Date: March 13, 2012
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 89 minutes
In LOOSIES, Peter Facinelli (the saintly patriarch of the Cullen vampire clan in the Twilight series and Edie Falco’s co-star in Nurse Jackie) plays Bobby, a skilled New York City pickpocket passing himself off as a stockbroker. Bobby has done well in his illicit work, but he tempts fate when he lifts the badge of a NYC detective (Michael Madsen, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs). Becoming the target of a citywide search, Bobby goes on the run when he encounters Lucy (Jaime Alexander, Thor, TV’s Kyle XY), a woman he once had a one-night stand with and who is now carrying his child. Suddenly faced with the responsibilities of parenthood, Bobby must reevaluate his life of crime and decide if he can ever settle down. Meanwhile both the cops and Bobby’s irate fence Jax (Vincent Gallo, Tetro, Buffalo ’66), whose underground dealings Bobby has now drawn unwanted attention to, close in from all sides.
As soon as I saw the trailer for Loosies, I was sold. A pickpocket is forced to grow up and be a man when he learns that a woman he slept with three months ago is pregnant with his child. I’m a sucker for stories where people are forced to grow up when that time is long overdue. A criminal life is no life. Love is life and so much more and Peter Facinelli has written a beautiful story here to reflect that. Predictable as this “criminal turns over a new leaf” formula is, this is a journey worth taking.
I honestly don’t understand why this is known as a thriller and comedy-drama. There’s simply not enough comedy here to even take that mention seriously. In fact, there are more cooky moments that may have you shaking your head in fits of laughter and disbelief but there are no comedians here to bring this story to that high that may be being promoted. And that’s okay because this film is strong without. As for those cooky moments… Bobby’s handler, dealer, whatever you want to call him and whoever that mute kid is that’s also always in the apartment were so odd that I almost couldn’t even take them seriously. They did not have enough depth. It just didn’t work.
The as a whole story drew me in though and the cast drew me in even more. As a fan of Facinelli and Jaimie Alexander, I was truly entertained. These two have great chemistry as well, it would be a shame if they didn’t work together again in the future. While the writing is good, it really takes the right cast to captivate and a job well done for casting is definitely present. Had these two not been in the lead, I may not have been as engaged. They kept me watching in the first half of the movie and by that point, their characters kept me going but it’s the matter of staying connected within the first half that’s important as it determines if you’ll keep watching.
Now as captivating as it was, there’s something about this film that didn’t quite blow me away. I admit, I was expecting more. More action. The problems that arise for Bobby outside of Lucy once he commits to Lucy could have been elevated. The cops and robbers chase was not nearly as thrilling as I had hoped it would be. In fact, one of the most thrilling scenes of the film instead turned out to be the jeweler scene which I won’t share because I do still want you to see the film and judge for yourself. I came away from Loosies wanting to continue to follow Bobby and Lucy because there was so much more to tell within what was shown and so much more to tell afterwards. It’s always wonderful when a film leaves you wanting more but this film ended up leaving me wanting too much. So if you’re fine with that, give Loosies a shot.
Unfortunately, there are no Bonus Features on the DVD.
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