Chicago Cab (1997) User Reviews (43)

A surprising little low-budget film

[MovieAddict2016 · 7/10 · 3 November 2005]

I saw this listed in my TV guide and didn't think much of it - but then I looked it up on IMDb to discover that John Cusack and Julianne Moore, amongst others, had cameos in it - so I watched it.

I was surprised because the IMDb rating is deceptive - it's actually pretty good. A bit flawed, yes, and the lead actor (who plays a cabbie traveling the city at night) could have employed a less cheesy NYC accent, but otherwise I was entertained. The overall tone of the movie is more pessimistic than I would have imagined; the ending is bittersweet and surprising.

Cusack's cameo is the best, as a secret service agent-type who is taking a ride in the cab in an effort to spy on someone. It's worth watching for his scene alone.

Needs a bit more Cusack, but otherwise pretty darn good

[mynerva · 7/10 · 7 March 2000]

Who would have ever thought Cusack could play menacing? This is an excellent adaptation of a play and everyone seemed very committed to the material. The plotline lacks momentum, but as a character study it's pretty interesting. Plus, if you don't like a scene, don't worry because it will change in two minutes. And I agree with an earlier reviewer. The ending is surprisingly poetic.

Much to my dismay, my Hollywood Video shelves this movie in the horror section!!!! Obviously nobody there has seen it.

Chicago Cabs

[osloj · 7/10 · 8 December 2015]

I caught this one on German TV one late night and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. "Chicago Cab" (1997) is that type of quirky film, made on a shoe-string budget, with cameos by bigger actors or character actors you've seen on TV, that you never heard about.

It concerns an odd cab driver played wonderfully by Paul Dillon, who seems a bit absent minded and odd, yet he's entirely harmless. The denizens of the city take his cab and what follows is his experience with these strange and sometimes sick people. Some of the pieces are poignant.

Also recommended: D.C. Cab (1983) Collateral (2004) Taxi Driver (1976) Night on Earth (1991) Taxi! (1932) My Son The Fanatic (1997)

A good, if mismarketed film.

[JeffG. · 14 September 1999]

Don't let the box art or bad title change fool you (the movie was originally called "Chicago Cab"). This is not a B-horror movie, but an interesting and well done film about a day in the life of a cab driver. He spends the day going through a long shift and picking up all sorts of eccentric passengers. Although we don't really get to know much about the cab driver, the viewer nevertheless feels some sort of attachment to him. The last twenty minutes of the film (which starts with Julianne Moore's character and continues right to the end of the film) is alone worth the rental.

I recommend this movie for those who are looking for something a little different from the norm. I'm still mad though about how this film has been mismarketed.

Great acting, weak plot...

[jackieO · 7/10 · 21 June 1999]

Although the acting throughout this entire film was great, there was little plot-- cab driver picks up odd and/or troubled fares; fares demonstrate their weirdness and talk about their troubles; the end. The box for this movie was highly misleading-- something about "the night from hell", "unusual passengers" "unfathomable events"... making it appear more like an episode of X-Files and less like what it is: a day in the life of a cab driver. But if you're in it more for the acting than you are the story line, it's worth a rent.

It might seem boring but just watch it: you'll like it.

[louistheb · 6/10 · 16 May 2004]

Well, I've watched it and I was very surprised! Recently I've watched a lot of big Hollywood films which really disappointed me (eg. "Face/Off"). But here comes that little film without any pretension and it turns out to be much better.

I wouldn't say it was brilliant but it was quite entertaining. Nothing much is happening but it's just very interesting to see that wide range of people. It was just very well made and had different feelings in it from serious to funny.

The production values were also good. I liked the way the plot was shown. The music was good. And all the actors were brilliant. Paul Dillon ("The Pretender") again showed his talented acting skills. He proved that he was not one of those actors who can only play one type of role.

Also it didn't try to do too much. Like that girl he tries to help. It didn't turn out to be a cheesy do-gooder plot but it was much more realistic. In fact I'll give it two thumbs up - for a small film it was actually pretty good...

Keep The Tip

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 11 December 2002]

I thought before this started I`d be watching an inferior TAXI DRIVER clone but I was slightly surprised at what I saw . CHICAGO CAB is a dark quirky off beat plotless drama . Paul Dillon ( Doesn`t he look strange ? - And I mean that in the nicest possible way ) plays a nameless Chicago cab driver whose life revolves around driving a mixed bag of passengers from point A to point B . By no means a bad film it does have an eclectic soundtrack and held my interest . It`s just that Martin Scorsese made the definitive film on the subject more than 25 years ago and I kept expecting the protagonist to pull out a magnum and blow away a few scum suckers . This doesn`t happen

Pointless and DULL

[Poochie · 2/10 · 26 February 2000]

A day in the life of a dimwitted cab driver sometime around Christmas: The cab driver picks up a fare...they have a 'really insightful' interlude...he drops off the fare...he picks up another fare...another interlude...and so it goes on like this for 90 friggin' minutes...none of it convincing (or interesting) for even one minute...SKIP IT!

The greatest movie to see alone, late at night, when it's Christmas-time

[Frankjwilliams · 10/10 · 5 April 2003]

I saw this movie around Christmas 2002, it was about 02.00 am, I thought I'd make one more walk around the channels. Then I saw a guy in a cab on BBC, and the colors of the movie seemed okay -You know, when a movie is really dumb, or bad, it often has intense and bright colors-. I wasn't doing anything at the moment, so I left it on. Then I became more and more interested in it, and decided to turn of the computer and focus only on the movie. I think this is a movie that truly represents the spirit of Christmas, although I am still not sure what the hell that may be, I'm sure this is it. Paul Dillon, whom I did not know beforehand plays his character brilliantly. He's a quiet guy, who somehow got into the job of cabdriver. He has to work on Christmas-eve and he gets all these strange people in his cab who tell him about what happened to them lately, and that's it! Fantastic. From there you see him trying to say the right things, and that maybe is the most beautiful thing about this movie. The movie is really easy going, you can just sit, do nothing, just watch and let it pass by. Therefore, when watched alone, late at night, at Christmas-time, this is the perfect movie for the moment, and deserves 10 out of 10 points.

Worthy if a little limp

[screamer-13 · 7/10 · 10 December 2002]

Though this film may be pretty light on story, it raises some thought-provoking situations and might even make the viewer reflect on their own life for a brief moment just like the main character does in the final scenes. The material is deftly handled and there is a gradually increasing sense of unease throughout the film that something terrible is going to happen sooner or later in the cab. Well, I don't want to spoil it; something does happen, just not exactly what we might have been expecting. An interesting twist to the tale. I must say Paul Dillon was very good. I spent the whole film weighing up his character and trying to decide whether he was a bit slow, extremely reserved, or terminally depressed. In the end not everything is revealed about his character; it's kind of left up to the viewer's interpretation. Nice. He was certainly unlike anyone I've ever known. It's just a pity that some of the episodes in the cab were a bit flat and didn't gel too well with each other. Maybe with a slightly more experienced team behind the scenes, and the same general premise and character arc, this could have been a bigger hit.

Video box writer should have written script...

[King_Rat · 1/10 · 1 September 1999]

I don't know if I hate this movie as much as I did when I watched it two weeks ago, but if you're expecting the events described on the box, forget it... that would have been a good movie. The great descent described on the box is nothing compared to the descent into utter dispair that I took viewing this movie. If you've seen HBO's Taxi Cab Confessions, this is the same thing, only fictional, and not even remotely as interesting. If you really want to see something interesting about a cab driver, check out the 20 minute short they run on Encore from time to time... it is actually worth watching. I have never, ever asked for my money back for a movie until I saw this ... thing. Boring, Boring, Boring. It does offer one unique trait, which is this: It leaves you to decide what happens to each of the passengers, letting your imagination fill in the gaps. Which would be great, if you actually cared about any of these people. Instead I found myself yelling at the screen, weeping like a child, praying for either the end of the movie or my own death. The cab driver himself (though well played, considering) runs through emotions seemingly at random, from sarcastic to sympathetic to raging lunatic to apathetic. Sometimes it is appropriate, most of the time it's just a display for it's own sake. "Dammit, I learned all these emotions in acting class, and I'm gonna use them!" Now that I've been thinking about it again, I do hate this movie as much as I did!

indie

[chicklet-2 · 8/10 · 2 July 1999]

I have seen my share of independents. I love the standards like Clerks and of course Raising Arizona. I've also seen some of the fringes of independent films, though I am by no means an expert. However, I can say that this one ranks in the upper tiers of independent film stratification. It was highly enjoyable and often comedic while at the same time thought-provoking and meaningful on a real life level. Another enjoyable aspect of the movie is spotting the famous faces who turn up, like Laurie Metcalf, Michael Ironside, John Cusak, Gillian Anderson, and most impressively Julianne Moore. It is Moore's part that sparks the greatest conversation in the film examining the limits of human ability. I recommend this one to anyone in the mood for something a little off the beaten path but not so far you can't find your way back.

An hour and a half of cab rides, tons of fun!

[chicothekid · 2/10 · 24 January 2001]

If you have ever wanted to know more about cab drivers, then this is an excellent movie to watch, for informational purposes only. I can just hear it now, "Wait, just wait a second! Why don't we follow a cab driver through his entire day! Cabbies are funny, and so are the people they meet, and they only talk to each other for just a couple of minutes, so the other actors should be cheap! Harry, you take care of production, Joan, you've got materials, Brian, you go round up some actors and we'll all meet back here tomorrow to start filming!"

The first 90% of the movie could not have been any worse had that very thing happened. At least with no planning whatsoever, there is always the element of surprise to be found. Some of Jim Carrey's movies have stuff added as they go along and they always do well at the box offices. The problem here is that the first 90% is pretty well scripted out, and it pretty much sucks. Paul Dillon plays the cab driver in Chicago who is working all day. We pretty much see what he sees. People get in and out of his car and he drives all around town. He talks to those people for a few seconds and then we get some more people.

I'll admit, there were a couple of funny bits here and there. A religious family tries to talk the cab driver into going to church with them, he takes a pregnant lady and her husband to the hospital, breaks up a rich businessman from his girlfriend, a poor girlfriend from her boyfriend and takes a rape victim home. I guess the moral of the movie is that a Cab Driver is more than a Cab Driver and has a larger sphere of influence over the lives of his passengers than you might originally think. For some people, he's just a means of getting from here to there, but for others, his very ordinary words help change the direction of their lives.

The last passenger of the day is used to try make sense of the rest of the movie, and to a small extent it succeeds. It had a bit of that deathbed repentance feel to it where the good majority of the movie sucks and then at the very end, it tries to make it all better in just one or two changes. I wasn't too impressed with the movie as a whole, but there were a few bits and pieces worth watching again. As far as the actors go, Paul Dillon is it. John Cusack, Gillian Anderson and Julianne Moore are all in this, for about 30 seconds each, but don't watch this for any of them or you will most certainly be disappointed. I will give the other people invovled some credit that it's not your ordinary movie they have produced here, but it wasn't a very good one either. There just wasn't enough material to keep you going for an hour and a half. It was a decent effort, but it failed none the same.

Excellent. Simply excellent.

[jbradshaw · 4 December 2003]

I remember the night I watched Chicago Cab for the first time. It was a few years ago and it was around 3:00 A.M. As soon as I saw the cab park to pick up the coke head, I was hooked. This movie, in my opinion, can be seen any time of the year but the true effect is present on or around the Christmas season. In some odd way, you can relate this film to the holidays. Of course, the movie is set on the winter solstice which is near Christmas but it's more of a relation to the depression that people face near Christmas. In any event, this movie is a must see. Paul Dillon deserves a standing ovation from every individual that sees this movie. You can't really "connect" with the driver but, then again, you can. If you ever see Chicago Cab/Hell Cab on your cable guide screen, do not pass it by. Watch it.

Cab drivers must have one of the strangest jobs ever. (spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 5/10 · 25 December 2005]

By coincidence I had, as another viewer suggested, watched this movie late at night (or rather, early morning) on Christmas Eve. It was a strange little independent production, one about a Chicago cab driver's strange passengers in the course of one Christmas night. It somewhat reminds me of the cool cult classic, 'Night on Earth,' which is similarly about cab drivers and their passengers, except in an international focus (with each of the five stories taking place in five different cities) and emphasizing the ironic or humbling differences between the drivers and the passengers they engage in discussion with. This is somewhat similar in that respect, where the cab driver is pitted against some of the strangest passengers who's few moments in his cab generate much anecdote worthy material.

There is no main plot. It is just an array of characters passing in and out of scenes and our lone constant is the somewhat frustrated cab driver. The film is a nice distraction, although viewers might find the incessant strange and overly-aggressive nature of several random passengers to be redundant or tedious. But, just like 'Night on Earth' this is probably destined for some measure of cult fame (which is already evident from the comments posted here on IMDb). The sheer outrageousness of the events and some of the conversation are likely to generate some laughs.

A taste of life

[tomimt · 8/10 · 3 May 2004]

I saw "Chicago Cab" by accident, while flipping through channels. Soon I noticed I was stuck watching this seemingly plotless movie about a guy, who has driven a taxi in Chicago for about 4 months.

A plotless movie might sound boring, even waste of time, but with great writing, good actors and good director "Chicago Cab" dwells up to be nicely cut slice from a population of big city, in example, religious family, married couple pregnant with their first born, etc.

Acting is overall very good, but Paul Dillon makes outstanding job in the role of Cab Driver. Without his subtle performance this whole movie could fall in pieces.

"Chicago Cab" balances between drama and comedy. Some things in this movie are so surprising and well thought of, that they made me laughing out loud. Some things made me sad, or feel compassion towards the Taxi Driver or his customers.

This is a movie, which can be recommend for people, who want to see little different kind of drama/comedy or are just fed up with all regular actors of this specific genre.

8/10.

Magnificent

[kevin_parks · 9/10 · 10 March 2005]

I'll start by admitting that I am biased in the sense that I am a Pearl Jam fanatic. The songs are what drove me to watch this film, but like Big Fish, I wound up LOVING the movie itself. This movie is truly a hidden gem. I compare this movie to Eternal Sunshine... this movie is centered on only a couple things: simple, yet close plot and character. Paul Dillon blew me away in this movie, and it's rather awkward that he isn't in more movies. When you watch this movie, and you see him for the first 5 minutes, myself, I thought 'typical cab driver'. And that is the beauty. Because the entire movie in my opinion begins with a generalization. A generalization of all things, a cab driver. (film making genius if you ask me) So then we see this rather vulgar looking man perform his day to day job which entails hearing peoples problems, and for brief moments becoming a part of them. Now, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the end of the movie showcases a person in its purest form. When the driver feels terrible about charging the girl (Julianne Moore) and the black man says: "you're a cab driver" it hit me like something beyond this world. The driver was struck with a sense of grief and emotion. That what makes his character so SO good. He tries so hard to be a good person, and learns who he is all in a day's work. Putting myself in the shoes of the driver in the movie, throughout that day, I would feel so bizarre at the end of the night. I think my mind would be full throttle and going at 100 miles a minute. And then we think about the beginning and how we figured this guy was just another lowly cabbie. Very compelling. Watch this movie. :) Cheers

A good film

[stevewest-1 · 6 September 2003]

Unfortunately I only caught this movie part of the way through on TV, but this movie piqued my interest immediately. Having driven taxi's myself for 13 months straight back in 2000/01 I always like to see what it's like for cab drivers elsewhere, how the driver responds to situations etc..

The Christmas eve I spent behind the wheel I got probably less than one passenger an hour, but I noticed that the atmosphere was definitely different from the typical weekday/weekend. So to busy Chicago, where the bald-headed driver is ferrying around a wide variety of people. He handles most things in a relaxed and fairly unstressed manner, and shows concern for others, but unfortunately is in that place in life which would see him earning his way by being behind the wheel of a taxi.

It looks like taxi driving is basically the same thing no matter where you are, mainly ferrying around city folk, the carless people and those who are intoxicated to varying degrees. I've felt the fear that the taxi driver felt when he picked up John Cusack's character, when the person won't tell you where they want to stop off. Are they going to do a runner? is there a dead end around the next corner where five guys with clubs lie in wait? Probably 99 times out of 100 it's a false alarm, but the 100th time...

At the end of the film I sympathised with the cabbie, where he's worn out, he's got the echoes of dozens of conversations in his head, and he's had some good times and some bad times. And back at it again the next day...

Superb

[LordBibingtonTheThird · 10/10 · 31 August 2003]

What an Exellent Film.Paul dillon was exellent.This Film is one of my favourite films.I spent 70 English pounds,on getting one of the origional promo posters,thats how much i like it.Alot different than all the junk that comes out of hollywood,and alot better.Watch it!

Check this one out next time you go to rent videos!

[Aero_Faith · 10/10 · 8 March 2001]

I think this movie has an all around good look at what is needed most in the world today, human interaction. All the actors played their role wonderful, short or long, and Paul Dillon really made the movie. The cab driver was irresistibly funny, and Paul really brings the movie together. If you want a funny realistic laugh, rent this movie, especially if you've ever taken a cab in Chicago.

I never thought I would actually fall in love with the film, but that's just what I did!

[vemerson-2 · 21 November 1999]

I have to admit, the first thing that drew me to the film was John Cusack's cameo, as I am and always will be a huge fan of his (read: fanatic). I never thought I would actually fall in love with the film, but that's just what I did!

As an aspiring indie filmmaker, this film really gets to me in many ways: more obviously, the acting is superb, in all cases. that Paul Dillon really is awesome (as are his eyes, they're killer!), as were all the cameos. I honestly could not find one bad actor among them (the shortness of some screen times may account for that, but let's not get negative here ;)). The story was very interesting and original, and although I've heard of people criticising the film's lack of interesting plot, I really tend to disagree. I've always enjoy "a day in the life of" type movies, especially those that give a perspective on real people, and give you the opportunity to get to know the characters, identify with them very well, unlike most "action-packed" cheesy Hollywood movies filled with little perfect phonies. Instead, to me, this movie had many small plots, and however small they were, they gave you enough to, if you use your imagination god forbid, to really know some characters, and connect with some. The number of real emotions I experienced while watching this movie -- and continue to, no matter how many times I see it -- is staggering. To me this film represents independent filmmaking of the people genre at its best: real and honest, for better or for worst. I also really admire the direction, production, camera work, music, etc. The genius of these elements together gave you a real feel for the topic, the city, the driver, and the drivees. The ending was also superb, for although the movie often showed how much life can suck, the ending gave me some hope for the future of humanity (of which I have very little), or, at least for certain individuals who can think clearly. ;) It really touched me and I identified greatly with it, and it gave a real sense of closure to the film, although I was whining for more when the credits started a-rollin'. :)

I now own this film (yay me!), as I purchased it literally the moment after the video store in which I work released a previously viewed copy for sale, and have watched it in full half a dozen times (and counting) and in parts a countness number. I have also shown it to (read: forced to watch) some friends and family, and although the numbers are pretty equal as to who likes it and who doesn't, the ones who dig it really dig it, and to me that's more than worth it! I want to show it to the world, wooo!

the minutiae of small lives - bleak but ultimately uplifting

[jw12 · 10/10 · 13 December 2002]

Excellent film with great acting. No real plot to it but a series of incidents you make your own mind up about - some funny some moving. I found the individual stories reminded me of the stories of Raymond Carver - the minutiae of small lives and how people live them. Though the film was largely bleak I found it ultimately uplifting and the fact that it is set at Christmas made it a good seasonal film but without the sentimentality.

(I watched this film on TV (titled Chicago Cab) intrigued by the short description. Why anyone would change the title to Hell Cab and give it a 'horror-esque' cover is beyond me - I wouldn't go near it in this box in a video shop.)

Yet another bad title change....

[SpiceLux · 9/10 · 6 June 1999]

Here's another decent drama worth renting on video despite a horrendous title change. It's a straight-forward enough drama with a huge revolving door for characters to come and go. Among the best: John Cusack (if only he'd have this much fun in his 'real' films!) and (I hope this is correct) Reginald Hayes (the last guy the cabbie picks up). He's in the last 10 minutes or so of the film and his performance is so gentle, so measured, so touchingly-perfect that if I were a casting director I'd hire him without reservation. If you rent this film and don't care much for it, fast forward to the end. You'll really be missing something if you miss his performance. OVERALL FILM GRADE: B

A fine piece of work

[fingerbo · 1 June 2000]

I just finished watching "Chicago Cab" on cable and was moved to post some comments. Though Paul Dillon gets third bill, this is his show.

Better known to most of the world for his hilarious role in the first "Austin Powers" flick, Dillon gets an opportunity to flex his muscles as a fully rounded character actor. Over the course of his very long day (from sun-up to sundown and then some), he picks up a plenitude of fares ranging from sanctimonious (his first fare of the day is a rather smug Born Again couple and their little daughter on their way to church at the very ungodly hour of six in the morning) to the frightening (too many to mention). All are played with conviction by a large number of talented actors ranging from the virtually unknown to very familiar faces in cameos.

One of these well-known faces is Gillian Anderson. It's fun to see her as a foul-mouthed Southside girl; a nice break from her prim, proper Agent Scully persona. Also worthy of mention is Reggie Hayes as Dillon's final fare of the day. The dialogue between the two men is touching and provides a necessary respite from the overall dire (yet entertaining) tone of the film.

I hope Will Kern graces the screen with another effort. This was adapted from his play of the same name and I'd like to see more from him.

As a final note, the video title, "Hellcab," is perhaps misleading. This movie is in no way related to the early CD-ROM game "Hellcab" created by comic artist Pepe Moreno.

'day in the life' of an independent cabbie

[fiveby · 8/10 · 20 January 2003]

Great movie, great well-developed characters...honest and interesting. I only wish I could write something this subtle, yet emotive. Gives the feel of a really good documentary, but then real life isn't this engaging. Amazing cast of characters...look for a cameo by John Cusack.