Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995) User Reviews (173)

A strong piece of work that has sadly been confused for a ripoff

[StevePulaski · 8/10 · 7 May 2014]

When Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction hit the scene in 1994, it took filmmakers and cinephiles by surprise that a film involving murder, betrayal, and theft could also be so wickedly funny and hilariously in its conversational fluidity. Tarantino was fearless, not worried about halting the plot-progression for just a short amount of time so the characters could ramble or comment on something random and completely off topic. As simple as it was, it was surprising to many; here was dialog unrelated to the plot and central story being used with such confidence.

Because of how Tarantino took convention and ordinary crime-drama filmmaking by storm, he obviously spawned many inspirations and "copycats." I only bring this up because, for reasons I have trouble understanding, people have written off Gary Fleder's Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead off as a Pulp Fiction ripoff. Since its release in 1995, the film has gone far under the radar and scrutinized, only to be viewed by the curious cinephile or a hardened crime drama fan; consider me both.

The film stars Andy Garcia, a leading man I, and many, it appears, have forgotten about as much as we forgot about this particular film. He plays "Jimmy the Saint," an ex-con looking to get out of the business and run his own shop where people record their wills for their family and friends before they die. Catering to the business serves as his day job, until he's approached by his paraplegic boss "The Man With the Plan" (Christopher Walken), who requests his services for one more little odd job. Unsurprisingly, the job goes wrong, and this means Jimmy is in the hottest water. Now, Jimmy must find a way to secure his own future, as well as continue to maintain stable connections, while pleasing his newfound love interest (Gabrielle Anwar) through all this chaos. In the meantime, we are introduced to a wide variety of characters played by big-name actors: a quiet hit-man nicknamed "Mr. Shhh" (Steve Buscemi), ex-gangster "Pieces" (Christopher Lloyd), petty-thug "Big Bear Franchise" (William Forsythe), the loquacious "Easy Wind" (Bill Nunn), and the argumentative and angry "Critical Bill" (Treat Williams).

The film bears a relatively age-old story, but the film is complicated by strangely vague dialog and an overabundance of characters with unique names. The dialog itself seems to be describing linear, straight-forward statements and requests and loading them with slang and alienating jargon that takes a great deal of time getting used to.

Once one comes to terms with the dialog, at hand, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead becomes your average mob flick, comfortably paced, sometimes fun in a gloomy way, and often brooding and dark, like the dapper characters it focuses on. If director Gary Fleder and writer Scott Rosenberg (who's eclectic filmography includes the amiable Kangaroo Jackand the wildly misunderstood Pain & Gain) has anything down here, it's the films tone, which knows when to be comedic and when to be haunting at just the right times.

Consider the scene when this particular operation goes wrong, and Jimmy and his gang land themselves in hot water. Up until this scene, the film has maintained a traditionalist mobster theme of being mildly dark and slightly comedic. When this incident occurs, it suddenly all goes black and the seventy of the gang's actions finally catch up to them. Fleder shows this nicely and packs a lot of character intrigue here with such a great cast.

Films centered around crime and the mobster lifestyle are often broken up into three categories with cinephiles: the classics, Scorsese, and everything else. While Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead exists in the latter, it is nothing shy of an enjoyable and intriguing viewing. The actors possess enough charisma and charm to carry out a screenplay like this, Fleder's direction always seems to hit the right tones, and Rosenbaum's writing always finds ways to take dark and exciting turns. The fact that the film has somehow mingled its way into being mistaken for a clone of one of the most popular crime dramas of all time is quite a shame because of how much quality is in its product to begin with.

Starring: Andy García, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi, Gabrielle Anwar, Jack Warden, and Fairuza Balk. Directed by: Gary Fleder.

Miserable band of misfits. Buckwheats.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 6 May 2012]

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is directed by Gary Fleder and written by Scott Rosenberg. It stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken. Music is by Michael Convertino and cinematography by Elliot Davis.

Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) is a ex-gangster who finds one of his debts has been bought up by his ex boss, The Man With the Plan (Walken). The Man wants Jimmy to assemble a crew to put the frighteners on a guy who stole the girlfriend of his son, Bernard (Michael Nicolosi), who has been so traumatised by the break up he has taken to "bothering" young girls. Calling on four of his old comrades in crime, Jimmy feels it's a simple job that will finally clear him of his gangster debt whilst earning his hard up pals some cash. However, in fighting threatens to destabilise the group and when the "job" invariably goes wrong they all have to deal with the vengeful aftermath of The Man With the Plan.

You wanna throw those pathetic yuks some scratch, I applaud your sensitivity.

One of a number of films that surfed in on the wave created by Pulp Fiction, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a nifty and potent picture at times, with sharp dialogue, moments of brutalising and a fire-cracker of a neo-noir finale. Yet it's hurt considerably by the ridiculousness of the set up. Film hinges on a "shake down" arrangement that just comes off as a weak excuse for a film, in fact it's bad writing. There are a myriad of ways to set up a heist gone wrong and then have the crims be on the run for their lives, this set up is just pathetic. Buscemi's hit man is poorly conceived, with some glaring conflicting in the characterisation, while the Anwar (beautiful and leaving a good impression) love interest angle could have had much more made of it if the makers had had the courage of their convictions.

Give it a name.

Still, if you can allow the annoyance of the crappy set up to subside, then there's strong noir themes to indulge in here. A one time bad boy struggling to escape his past and characters stuck in a bleak destiny influenced rut they can't get out of. There's a pervading sense of depression hanging over the film, which in a twisted way makes for good film, while the character dynamics are strong because the characters are very memorable. Helps, too, that they have awesome names like Jimmy the Saint, Critical Bill, Franchise and Mister Shhh! Acting is very good, with Garcia earning his quality pathos stripes, Williams doing psycho with ease, Forsythe a mighty machismo presence, Lloyd resigned and pitiless and Walken turning in another in his long line of bitter scary bastards.

Worthy of interest to neo-noir fans for sure, but frustration sits in the narrative to stop it being an essential viewing. 6.5/10

Overlooked crime flick

[evilasahobby · 8/10 · 7 March 2003]

"Things to Do in Denver... When You're Dead" is a smart little crime flick that may not add anything to the genre but is an enjoyable ride. Andy Garcia is thoroughly charming as the honourable Jimmy the Saint who is under increasing time pressure to fix things before his crew get killed for a botched job. Other cast members also put in good performances, while if you are a fan of Steve Buscemi this film probably contains his "coolest" work to date.

"Things to Do..."'s greatest flaw is its slow exposition. It takes a while for things to get moving, by which time you may be questioning why you are watching this movie. Stick with it - "Things to Do in Denver... When You're Dead" is a crime film worth watching.

A Brooding Gem

[maestro133 · 22 April 2003]

I feel that a hell of a lot of ppl missed the point on this one; it is less a Tarantino-esque hip, Godfather mob drama, than a meditation on life and death, and the frustration of mortality.

Centered around Garcia's character Jimmy, the film follows him tying up his loose ends, after his gang botch up an 'action', and are given a 48hr suspended death sentence by bitter crimelord Walken, before the deadly assassin Mr Shh (Buscemi) is called in. Feeling responsible, and desperate to tie up as many loose ends in his life, the film finds Jimmy constantly striving to choose between options, and to try and finish nobly, and rectify his perceived wrongs. These include trying to secure his fellow gang members (Lloyd, Nunn, Forsythe and the crazed Williams), ensure the wellbeing of prostitute Balk, and ignore his love for Anwar, to avoid dragging her in with him. Throughout it all, Jimmy only succeeds in isolating himself further, fighting his fears and dreams with his logic and pride. Yet as Warden narrates, there is a sense that Jimmy's peace is just around the corner, if only he can do the right things.

Garcia truly tranmits his character's pain and suffering, most pertinently through the changing look on his eyes and face as the deadline nears - he tries to maintain his grace, but cant quite hide his fears. All the support are great - Walken and Buscemi as per usual are suitably fearful, Williams and Lloyd in particular represent lost souls going down defiantly very well, whilst the underused women are perfect - Anwar doing well with unhelpful scenes, and Balk truly outstanding as the prostitute with the zeal and realism that Jimmy so badly needs. The dialogue is at times cheesy and clunky, and the mob feel somewhat overdone, but the film feels true, and makes a valuable point about targets, and the temporality of life. And it refuses to lose hope, as proved by the final boat scene.

Similar to Spike Lee's new film, the issues of mortality, and aspirations and dreams are key. The film's sombre tone is perfect - not too downbeat (there are many hilarious and happy moments), but enough to make us understand the importance of the issues at stake. Aside from staunch, happy-to-be-cynical other imdb reviewers, the film will affect, and perhaps even instruct. Recommended.

Better than most 1990s Tarantino knock-offs, mostly thanks to the cast

[a_chinn · 7/10 · 17 September 2018]

Following the success of "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994), there were a slew of quirky (and violent) crime films. Most of them were pretty awful ("2 Days in the Valley" "Lucky Number Slevin") and some that were pretty excellent ("Get Shorty" "Grosse Pointe Blank" "Go"). "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" falls somewhere in between. The film was written by Scott Rosenberg, who's written solid entertainment like "Con Air" and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" to duds like "Kangaroo Jack" and the "Gone in Sixty Seconds" remake. The script on it's own probably falls into the the lesser half of Tarantino knock-offs, but an excellent cast (Andy García, Christopher Lloyd, Treat Williams, Bill Nunn, Jack Warden, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk, Gabrielle Anwar, Bill Cobbs, Glenn Plummer, Don Cheadle, and Tiny Lister) greatly elevate the material. The story follows Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) as he puts together a disparate crew of quirky criminals (i.e.Lloyd has appendages falling off and Williams uses bodies at the funeral parlor he works at as as punching bags) on a job that, as you'd expect, goes all wrong. The film does have it's moments. Williams and Nunn cursing each other out in a Resturant while birthday-hat-wearing children look on in stunned silence is pretty funny. Williams as the unpredictable and off kilter Critical Bill is probably the best part of the film. A close second is a doomed romance between Garcia and Anwar. However, the film's script is really just trying too hark in it's attempt to be cool and quirky. The narration by the great Jack Warden seemed particularly pretentious. Overall, there are better films to choose from if you're wanting 90s style Tarantino rip-offs, but if you like the cast here (which I do greatly), you'll probably enjoy "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead."

Violent, Humorous & Undeniably Derivative

[seymourblack-1 · 7/10 · 22 May 2014]

This entertaining crime drama uses a very familiar type of plot to showcase the amusing eccentricities of a bunch of criminals who come together to carry out a job for a ruthless mobster. The action is often violent and the body count is high but there are also moments of humour and romance that add enormously to the enjoyment of the piece.

Like "2 Days In The Valley" (1996), "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" followed in the wake of Quentin Tarantino's great successes of the early 1990s and the influences of "Pulp Fiction" and more obviously, "Reservoir Dogs" are apparent throughout.

Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia (Andy Garcia) is a retired gangster who's in a difficult position because his legitimate business called "Afterlife Advice" is losing money. To make matters worse, his debt to some loan sharks is actually owned by his old crime boss who's known as "The Man With A Plan" (Christopher Walken) and he wants Jimmy to carry out "an action" for him. Jimmy's in no position to refuse and so rounds up four members of his old gang.

"The Man With A Plan" has a son who, after having been dumped by his girlfriend, turned to child molesting. Jimmy's old boss wants the girlfriend's new fiancé to be scared off in the hope that she'll then decide to reconcile with her previous beau and steer him back into acting normally again!!! Jimmy then arranges for two of his gang members to pose as police officers in a stunt that goes terribly wrong and ends up with both the fiancé and the girlfriend being killed.

Predictably, "The Man With A Plan" doesn't take this news well and hires a contract killer called Mr Shhh (Steve Buscemi) to kill the four gang members in the most painful ways possible and then orders Jimmy to leave Denver within 48 hours or he'll suffer the same fate. Jimmy decides not to leave immediately because he wants to see Dagney (Gabrielle Anwar), the beautiful girl he's fallen in love with, his gang members, who he tries to help in any way that he can and Lucinda (Fairuza Balk), a hooker who values his friendship. Unfortunately, by delaying his departure from Denver for so long, Jimmy even starts to put his own life in danger.

It's the quirky characters in this movie that provide most of its entertainment and dark humour. Jimmy is very suave, charming and extremely loyal to his friends and his tendency to put others before himself and to do what's noble is fitting for someone who's nicknamed "The Saint". Gang member Pieces (Christopher Lloyd) is a projectionist in a cinema that only shows porn movies and suffers from a disease which causes parts of his body to drop off unexpectedly. Franchise (William Forsythe) runs a trailer park and has a wife who's desperate for him not to get involved with the gang again and Critical Bill (Treat Williams) is a highly volatile, psychotic ex-con who works in a morgue and tries to control his violent urges by beating up corpses which he strings up to use as punch bags. Easy Wind (Bill Nunn) is the forth member of the gang who works in the pest control business and hates Critical Bill because of something bad that went on in prison.

Although it's undeniably derivative and contains some dubious dialogue (e.g. "girls who glide need guys who make them thump"), "Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead" does have an offbeat appeal, numerous funny moments and some great acting by its wonderful cast. Andy Garcia, Treat Williams and Chrispoher Walken are particularly good and there's also a great soundtrack and an appearance by Buddy Guy to enjoy.

Boat drinks and Buckwheats. How this film slipped through is beyond me.

[ToldYaSo · 9/10 · 15 April 1999]

One of the greatest appeals of this film is its vernacular. Aside from being cast beautifully by talented actors in diverse roles set in an interesting story, it's the dialogue that is extremely memorable. That, and its great title.

And with such a great cast and dialogue, I'm absolutely stunned as to how this great little film slipped through the cracks and didn't get a wider audience. Its theatrical run here in Toronto was limited, actually I'm making an assumption, I don't recall a listing for it, but before you knew it, it was gone. Perhaps it wasn't marketed well or supported strongly enough.

I have recommended this film and lent it to many friends and every one of them has enjoyed it. I generally say, if you liked "Pulp Fiction", another film which is well cast and with great dialogue, then you will likely enjoy this one also.

One of my favourite quotes from the film (or any) comes from a supporting player. Andy Garcia as "Jimmy The Saint", seeks the advice of Bill Cobbs, playing "Malt", a Soda Jerk, on whether he should impregnate his hooker friend as a favour to help straighten her out, Malt sarcastically replies:

"That's just what the world needs... the unholy offspring of you two bag-o-smashes. That kid will be the anti-christ for sure… 666 written all over it."

Christopher Walken plays a memorable role of a crippled mob boss, known as "The Man With The Plan" who is disturbed by his son Bernard's manic and sexually obsessive behavior after having been dumped by the love of his life for another man. The Man With The Plan insists that Jimmy, come back to work for one job, an action, to scare the living daylights out of this new beau, and tell him to stay away from Bernard's former girlfriend.

Jimmy is given the option to assemble his old crew for this action, which he does. A strange bunch of men who have been long out of any illegal action, some of whom miss it, and others whom do not.

And that's just about where it gets real interesting.

The story is laden with character revelation from a old wiseguy who just doesn't shut up and scenes from everyday people who offer their wisdom to videotape at Jimmy The Saint's legitimate but failing business, "After Life Advice" for people who are terminally ill and wish to pass on a legacy to their loved ones beyond the grave.

Everyone involved with this film should be proud of their accomplishment. It is a great film and unfortunately hasn't been seen by many, by my account anyway. Let's see if we can't change that.

Dark drama with a touch of poetry

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 20 October 2008]

"Things to do in Denver When You're Dead" is a 1995 film starring Andy Garcia, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd, Steve Buscemi, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Jack Warden, Gabrielle Anwar and Fairuza Balk. Garcia is Jimmy the Saint, an ex-mobster who now runs a company called Afterlife Advice, where he tapes the words of dying people so that their relatives can come in after they're gone and listen to them. He's called in by a paralyzed mobster (Walken) who wants a favor. Jimmy has no choice but to do it, because he owes money and the mobster owns his notes.

On the surface and by mob standards, the favor is pretty benign. The Walken character has a child molester in the making son who is in love with a woman he dated for years. She left him and is now engaged to someone else. Her fiancé is due in town, and the Walken character wants him frightened out of seeing her anymore.

Jimmy gets a crew together, two men to pose as cops and some guys to sit nearby and do the scaring once the cops bring him over. Unfortunately, due to a ridiculous decision by Jimmy (and THE major plot hole), a loose canon known as Critical Bill (Williams) is allowed to be one of the police. Unbeknownst to the men, the young woman is asleep in the back seat, her fiancé realizes the guys aren't cops, Critical Bill becomes critical, and both she and her fiancé wind up dead. The Walken character puts out buckwheat hits on everyone, meaning that they don't die instantly. He gives Jimmy 48 hours to get out of town. Jimmy spends it trying to help the others disappear, helping a young hooker (Balk) and dealing with his love for a woman (Anwar). In his own way, Jimmy the Saint brings things full circle in a way that makes sense for his own life.

Violent, sad and depressing, "Things to do in Denver When You're Dead" has some brilliant performances and some very likable characters. Everyone is a standout, most especially Garcia, Lloyd and Williams. The film is punctuated with the advice from the elderly on tape, which gives the film a bittersweet flavor. Very well directed by Gary Fleder, with a somewhat derivative but good script by Scott Rosenberg.

Inventive Thriller

[RASTA-4 · 10/10 · 7 September 1998]

This is an excellent film that has interesting characters, a tricky plot line and alot of cool phrases/sayings. This is a movie critizied for copying Pulp Fiction, but it's not the same kind of movie. It's script was made before Pulp Fiction and is more complex then Pulp fiction. Steve Buscemi is a standout in the cast as a deadly hitman named Mr. Shh, and also noticeable is Treat Williams who is the psychotic Critical Bill. This is a totally original film that should be recognized and talked about, it only had bad timing on it's release.

Timeless story with fine actors

[jon_pratt12345 · 7/10 · 1 August 2021]

There is something comforting about this film to me. There is a great sense of location and community; it has a timeless story and some fine actors of the day. It's cool and stylish while also foreboding; building to an unavoidable conclusion.

Give it a name? Ornate plot filled with Cartoonish characters

[skepticskeptical · 5/10 · 9 October 2015]

Don't ask me why, but I watched this movie twice. Maybe because it was set in Denver, where I grew up. The setting of this story seemed to be a very different place from the city of Denver familiar to me. Or perhaps I watched this production a second time simply to verify that this was not a great film. Fait accompli.

There was some good acting in this production, no doubt, but the characters were almost all caricatures. And then there's the story itself. The Andy Garcia character has managed to extricate himself from the world of the mob and "go civilian". But then his old boss has him chased down to do one final "action"—not a "work", but an "action". He is supposed to not kill but frighten away the lover of the boss's son's former girlfriend so that the son (who has become a pederast--what?) can be reunited with the love of his life.

Who does the Andy Garcia character call on to help him carry out the "action"? A team of misfit losers, all of whom have done time in prison and are therefore of questionable competence. Predictably, the incompetent team members prove incompetent here as well, and end up killing not only the guy whom they are supposed to scare, but also his girlfriend.

The boss, who is a paralyzed, ghoulish Christopher Walken character, decides to "buckwheat" the lot of them, which we are told means make them suffer before they die. However, he gives the Andy Garcia character the opportunity just to leave town, which he ends up not doing because he's too busy trying to save all of the others.

There is so much detail to this densely embellished story, but none of it really adds up to anything. I feel as though the screenwriter was trying to jam all of his interesting ideas into a single script. Sometimes less is more, and this story could have benefited from the removal of some of the colorful but ultimately irrelevant "script- stuff", for lack of a better expression.

Did the son of the boss really have to be a pederast? Did the Vietnam Vet really have to use corpses as his punching bag? It was all too much. Like eating a dozen donuts and a bag of potato chips and a submarine sandwich and a candy bar, and maybe washing it all down with a couple of beers.

Steve Buscemi makes a short appearance (maybe that's why I gave this a second chance?), and there is a sort of happy ending when the druggy- prostitute pregnant survivor of the story moves to Florida to raise her child and become a masseuse.

Honestly, I don't even know what is worth reporting here. It would take way too many words! So let me just end by avowing that I definitely will not give this high-calorie, low nutrient production a third try.

Perfect thy cast, impeccably written slice of 90's gangster noir

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 10/10 · 8 August 2015]

Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead is a crackling, explosively verbose, darkly comic 90's neo noir. In other words, right up my crime infested alley. It operates on a heightened plane of larger than life thugs, Machiavellian crime bosses and an almost beat poetry by way of Shakespeare writing style, courtesy of Scott Rosenberg's pen. The writing is one of the best quality's of this film, and when you watch it and find out what buckwheats and boat drinks are, you'll get it. Andy Garcia turns on the slick as Jimmy The Saint, an ex mobster on the path to enlightenment, attempting to open his own business, called Afterlife Advice, where dying people record pearls of wisdom for their loved ones to see after they're gone. He is called back into action for a job by his old employer, a creepy, all powerful gangster known only as The Man With The Plan, who is played by, you guessed it... Christopher Walken. He is a a perverted, unsettling ghoul in the role, paralysed from the neck down and confined to a blow tube operated wheelchair, lurking in his dimly lit, Gothic mansion and hurling threatening orders like Max Schreck from Nosferatu. He coaxes Jimmy into pulling his old crew together for one last job, a personal one involving Walken's even creepier son. Of course the job goes horrendously wrong, resulting in Walken's wrath raining down upon each and every one of Jimmy's crew, as they all scramble, most of the, unsuccessfully to escape Denver. It's a stark, largely unpleasant bit of violent fun with a snappy vernacular all its own, but don't mistake my review as making out as pure darkness, without a heartbeat. There's an incredibly romantic core, as Jimmy falls in love with two vastly different, beautiful girls at once: an angelic socialite from the other side of the tracks named Dagney, played by the ever gorgeous Gabrielle Anwar, and Lucinda, a scuzzy, spunky hooker with a heart of gold played with twitchy, heartfelt energy by Fairuza Balk. Jimmy's crew is a pockmarked landscape of rough and tumble character actors, all with their own distinct flavour. William Forsythe is aces as Big Bear Franchise, a family man thug, Christopher Lloyd displays warmth and feeling as Pieces, the veteran of the crew, Bill Nunn is great as Easy Wind, and Treat Williams comes out of left field as Critical Bill, a nickname reminiscent of the condition he puts people in, as he's an absolute live wire lunatic, who literally uses corpses at the morgue he works at for punching bags, because his shrink told him he needs an outlet for his rage. Yeah. Steve Buscemi has a sly role as dangerous hit-man named Mr. Shhhhh, because he barely says a word. There's also great work from Jack Warden, Bill Cobbs, Don Cheadle and Glenn Plummer. I have to reiterate again what a lovely script it has, like a particular lingo all its own, that the characters wear like a verbal glove, and share with you with every interaction they have. It's an extremely overlooked bit of hard boiled fun, with just the right touches of scary, shocking violence, world weary golden age regret, with a stable full of wild, wacky characters to keep you more than entertained. Check it out.

Underrated Film. Good cast & story. Mid level production values.

[rochfordsimon · 7/10 · 1 January 2021]

Sadly this movie was made to try and cash in on the Quinten Tarantino craze at the time. It is not on the level of a QT production and it was advertised as such. This I feel, led to its downfall when released. If it was marketed different it would have succeeded.

I enjoyed this movie back on the day and have watched it numerous times over the years. I still enjoy it. Great characters and some scenes are class. The dialogue is cringey in parts as is the plot. But that shouldn't hide the other values this movie has.

I AM GODZILLA, YOU ARE JAPAN.

I Feel I Must Warn Others

[yesyouam · 2/10 · 24 October 2006]

I went into this film with no expectations. Still, I was horribly disappointed. As I saw the opening credits roll by, I was pretty excited: Buscemi, Lloyd, and... Walken! As it turns out, the actors were just fine. They did what they could but no one could polish a turd like this.

The writing was staggeringly bad. All of the dialog fixated on the characters using cute little terms for things. It seemed like a very awkward effort to be hip. Half the time they made no sense at all. The whole "Give it a name" routine seemed like a very forced attempt to create some sort of catchy phrase along the lines of the "Fuggedaboddit" in Goodfellas. Jimmy the Saint's rambling monologues seemed like they were pulled from some teenager's diary. I loved the way he just sort of read those lines to the air and everyone pretended to listen. I felt really bad for Garcia. He's no Pacino and not even Pacino could make any of those lines sound like they made any sense. And what was with his wavering accent? All of the empty characters seemed like they were written with Kevin Costner in mind.

The epitomic moment of this film is when Critical Bill insists on playing a cop and Jimmy caves in and lets him do so with the insurance that he's not allowed to open his mouth. Jeez! I wonder if he'll somehow screw everything up... by... opening his mouth or something? The slightly-too-loud background music indicates that this is very possible! Let us continue to watch and see! Jimmy's whole fling with Dagney was so tacked-on-- as was his relationship with Lucinda. They had no bearing on the rest of the film. There were many little stories that all involved the main character but none of them had anything to do with each other and none of them had any development within themselves. There were no surprises in the movie and I simply didn't care for any of the characters except for, perhaps, the kids that got killed out on the highway. They, of course, were simply props in the film. For that matter, all of the characters were simply props. Lifeless robots with flashy nicknames who drift about with a single motivation: the script-- They must read the lines they have been given and hope that the editors make sense of it all.

What was with Jimmy beating up the dude in the office? That whole scene was pointless. Are we supposed to think that he's some kind of stand-up guy now? What was with those abrupt clips from the dying people slapped randomly through the film. How poetic. How deep. Not really.

I can't bear to think of it any longer. To sum up: bad story, flat characters, horrid dialog, poor editing-- A poor attempt to cash in on the Pulp Fiction popularity of the time. It would give it zero stars, but it gets one point for Walken and one point for Buscemi.

Love it or Hate it.

[Fredichi · 20 June 2000]

I guess this one is turning out to be a love it or hate it movie.

I don't think the comparisons to Goodfellas or Casino is fair. This is more of a fantasy movie, where the characters happen to be criminals. It's told like a fantasy and the end of course puts re-emphasizes that. Goodfellas was gritty and brutal. Although a great film. I found it very hard to like such ugly characters. Even DeNiro was hard to like. That could of been the point. Or not. I'm not Scorcese.

I feel these characters are much more likeable. Yes, there are some seemingly illogical turns in the plot. Like hiring Critical Bill. But I think they explain it pretty well. And the more you watch the movie the more you find details to help explain it. Sure he's nuts but he's fearless. It's a pretty standard movie criminal stereotype. The crazy guy who'll do anything. I don't know why so many people had a problem with him. He was a great character and probably the best thing Treat Williams has done in years. He's likeable but he's just such a nutjob. I love Jimmy's final conversation with him.

I think in order to really appreciate it, watch it more than twice. First time it's good but you see holes. The second time the holes get bigger. The third time the holes close up and the characters shine through.

Everybody keeps comparing it to Tarantino and most seem to make comments about not liking Pulp Fiction. Not gonna get into the whole defending Pulp Fiction thing but yes this has a lot of Pulp Fiction influence but the sources of Pulp Fiction are more what this references. This is not a non-linear story really. It has flashbacks and asides but it is told in order. And the dialogue I think is different from Tarantino's. Tarantino's has his own lingo. Based on reality. And it is just peppering here and there. It's more about pop-culture.

This is more like pseudo 50's gangster lingo made up just for solely this movie. It helps create a microcosm for these characters. You know no one else but these characters use the dialogue. I think it's quite poetic. Scott Rosenberg did a great job with it.

It more playful and imaginative.

I also think unlike the straight train wreck downward- slope tragedy of Goodfellas, which works perfectly for that movie. This has a romantic tragedy feel. There is a lot of time spent on denied love. Anyways. I just really like this movie and it has grown on me tremendously.

Some may hate it sure. Some love it. Either way I can think of worse movies to bet on.

I say try it. If you love it it's one of those movies you can watch over and over and those are the best type of movies.

Solid crime drama

[itamarscomix · 7/10 · 23 September 2011]

An excellent little crime drama that went under the radar for most people and didn't get the recognition it deserved from the critics. True - in many ways it could easily be labeled as just 'another Tarantino copy', the influence of Reservoir Dogs are hard to miss. Unlike most of Tarantino's followers, though, Things to Do in Denver has a distinct voice and style, solid storytelling with a fresh and interesting look at a familiar subject, and above all - a fantastic, colorful cast, with some standout performances from actors you don't usually see in this genre - Christopher Lloyd and Treat Williams stand out, and Andy Garcia and Steve Buscemi deliver some of their finest performances. For lovers of the genre it's very well recommended.

Quirky offbeat 90's gangster thriller

[Lejink · 7/10 · 21 November 2007]

Cool title, cool film. Okay it cops a few riffs from Reservoir Dogs / Pulp Fiction in its manipulation of narrative, stylised cinematography and ultra-cool language, but this well acted gangster yarn is eminently watchable. I did have a problem with the scatological patois of almost all the main characters - I could have done with a subtitled thesaurus at times, most noticeable when Andy Garcia's Jimmy the Saint character switches from the street-jive to almost sub-West Side Story street-poetry in his pursuit of the oddly named Dagley who again slightly unbelievably, falls for it! The names are great too, Damon Runyan for the 90s - I mean Critical Bill, Easy Wind, Franchise, Pieces and Mr Shhh, a great nom-de-plume for a hit-man. The various set pieces are all well done, from Jimmy the Saint's meetings with Christopher Walken's sinister "Man with the Plan" who emerges from the gloominess of rooms as dark as his depraved mind, to the rain-soaked botched "bracing" of the offending teenage lovers, to the silent assassinations of Jimmy's "crew", culminating in the double-murder when immovable force meets irresistible object as Mr Shhh confronts Critical Bill. The ensemble acting's terrific, Garcia in the lead playing a part he can do in his sleep, but the laurels for me are taken by the great Christopher Lloyd as Pieces who knows his race his run and accepts his impending doom with grace and courage, Treat Williams as the deranged Critical Bill and Fairuza Balk as the tart with a heart with whom Jimmy plants his seed. The device of using Garcia's business of the terminal elderly leaving afterlife video messages for their loved ones works well between scenes as does the running commentary offered in a similar ilk by Jack Warden. I got the "Gladiator" type ending in advance, with Jimmy delivering his own valediction on video before hooking up with the guys for "Boat drinks", but that didn't reduce my satisfaction at a well worked conclusion to a quirky enjoyable movie.

subtle and brilliant writing

[matthewwright · 10/10 · 14 May 2003]

It would be hard to dislike a film that opens with a Tom Waits tune and gives hitherto typecast actors a chance to, oh, I don't know: Act. First, Andy Garcia. What can I say about Andy? He's an attractive guy who all too often gets slated to play "the attractive guy." (His shamefully undeveloped character from Ocean's Eleven comes to mind). In this little indy film he gets a chance to actually embody a character and not simply be Andy Garcia (with capital letters). Then there's his love interest, Gabrielle Anwar (who elevated the already immortal tango in Scent of a Woman). Poor Anwar has been plagued with a lot of stock roles in lame movies since then, but here, like Garcia, she gets to explore her role and show the audience she can do more than make "hey I'm famous. Where's my check?" Al Pacino look good on the dance floor. Also fantastic are Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi, and Christopher Walken (who bests his Annie Hall AND Pulp Fiction cameos). The story is simple: Andy's character is an ex-mob guy who's gone legit then pulled back in for one last job, things go wrong, and he's got 2 days before he's going to be killed. In many hands this would be a B movie, but the writing is so clever and unique that this excessively played mob-movie thing seems like it's done for the first time. There are as many quotable lines in this film as any cult classic; my favorites include: "I knew the kid was lunchy, but not that lunchy." and meeting Anwar's character for the first time: "What's your name?" "Dagney." "Dagney? Wonderful name. Everyone should know a Dagney."

If you like films like Usual Suspects that combine the action genre with actual thought and character development rent this film and see if you can watch it only once. In the same ballpark try Way Of The Gun with Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe, another film where "pretty boys" are actually allowed to explore their craft of acting.

Somewhat very reminiscent of Tarantino's classics

[bellino-angelo2014 · 7/10 · 6 November 2022]

I have heard for many years about this movie because of the title and of its star studded cast. Last March I finally saw it and while I expected a lot, I found it decent and nothing more.

It begins with Jimmy Tosnia (Andy Garcia) that is trying to go straight and is running the Afterlife Service where people who are about to die record on tape messages for their loved ones. Unfortunately this business isn't running well and his former boss, a wheelchair-bound crime lord known as Man with a Plan (Christopher Walken) proposes Jimmy to save his son that has been arrested for child molestation. So Jimmy reunites his old gang consisting of Pieces (Christopher Lloyd), Easy Wind (Bill Nunn), Franchise (William Forsythe), and Critical Bill (Treat Williams). They go on a mission but it goes on a plan: soon after the Man with a Plan is furious and advises Jimmy to leave Denver if he wants to live and his gang sentenced to buckwheats (to die in painful and gruesome manners). Jimmy's friends will meet their gruesome ends thanks to hitman Mr. Shhh (Steve Buscemi) that never fails until he is found by Critical Bill, and also Jimmy will meet his fate (can't say it here).

While I found the style of the movie unusual, I kinda liked some aspects of it. I loved the cast, so full of many familiar faces of the 1990s and they all give good performances. Some of the action scenes where violent but necessary for the plot, and the ending scene was certainly something that makes you scratch your head. And it even borrowed some plot elements from RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION.

Resuming, a decent thriller but nothing exceptional. I appreciate the style because I think that the director wanted to be original while borrowing from some movies that were fresh in those years. A must see for fans of 1990s movies full of many famous actors... just like me.

flawed but inspired

[KinoEye2 · 10/10 · 8 October 1999]

Next to Garcia's work in INTERNAL AFFAIRS, this is really one of his best performances... It's a rich film on every level, and it's too bad the film was caught -- back in 1995 -- in the backlash of Tarantino madness. Scott Rosenberg has a unique voice as a writer, and this film attempts to create its own reality. All those who say they 'hate' this film should rent their copy of HAPPY GILMORE and keep their opinions to themselves. Needless to say, this is a film that provokes and p***es people off and one which should be viewed without conventional expectations...

Such an underrated classic

[szovati · 7/10 · 8 September 2020]

Let's start with the all star cast - Andy Garcia, Christopher Loyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Christopher Walken, treat Williams, Steve Buscemi & old school actor Jack Warden among others. The story is about Jimmy the Saint doing one last job for his former employer The Man with the Plan. The plan goes wrong and they are all sought out by hired assassin Mr Shoosh. In between scenes we are shown last testaments and advice of dying people. The real "treat" of this film is the superb acting of Treat Williams who plays a completely psychotic ex con. Amazing stuff!

Godawful garbage...

[chas77 · 1/10 · 16 March 1999]

I'm completely stunned by the amount of praise people seem to be lavishing on this turkey. It's awful. It makes little sense. And worst of all, it's not even a 'fun-derivative' movie, a la the John Sayles-type of exploitation films of the late '70's, early '80's.

Ex-low life (now nicknamed "Jimmy the Saint") Andy Garcia plans 'one final job' for mobster Christopher Walken. For reasons that make absolutely no sense, he gets a bunch of idiotic misfits to help him. These sub-criminals are put together by the screenwriter for the sole purpose of having the viewer watch people yell and scream at each other. For instance, the black guy doesn't want to work with Treat Williams because he heard that Treat was a 'fecal eater' (a fact that doesn't exactly advance the plot) in prison. So for more minutes than we need, we see yelling and shouting about this.

The job gets botched because...if it didn't, there would be no movie. Walken tells Garcia that his crew will now be -- get this -- "buckwheats." What are 'buckwheats' you may ask? Good question. As narrator Jack Warden (who inexplicably spends the entire movie telling us poor viewers what's going on from inside the malt shop Garcia is prone to visit)explains it, 'buckwheats' means that you will die in a most painful way. Ooooh! The rest of the film deals with Garcia trying to get his brain-dead crew to leave town. He offers them plane tickets to exotic locations. No one accepts these tickets because...well, if they did, the filmmakers wouldn't be able to show us the various ways these people get tortured and killed by assassain Steve (have they made a movie without me yet?) Buscemi.

Lotsa wannabe hip dialogue is peppered throughout this movie in an obvious attempt to ape Tarantino. The only problem is, the dialogue doesn't make a lot of sense without Jack Warden to explain it all. A complete waste of time.

On scale of 1 to 10, give this one a 1...and that's being generous.

Classic modern noir

[neiljones · 9/10 · 25 November 2002]

I CAN imagine telling someone this film is 'a reputable film of inherently admirable qualities' - a wide-ranging score, sharp cinematography, a beautiful elegiac tone and a killer script all provide the foundations for one of the most surprising films I've seen. Andy Garcia's A-list performance is superbly supported by a host of brilliantly- cast characters, with Treat Williams, Christopher Lloyd and the malevolent

Christopher Walken outstanding.

The whole film just sits really well - all the small background details help the plot, flesh out the characters and culture or provide telling counterpoints to the situation.

Highly recommended, for those who like their films stylish, well-acted and

intelligent.

Best of the "Pulp Fiction" Knock Offs

[BrashFink · 7/10 · 27 March 2002]

Of all of the "Pulp Fiction" rip-offs that came out in the mid 90s, this one is the best. Unlike most of the others, this really only dealt with one main story instead of trying to intertwine several stories like "Pulp" and failing horribly. This one is like "Pulp" in flavor, not through story telling gymnastics. It is a good solid story about good solid characters.

Andy Garcia is great. Why is this guy not in more leading roles? Steve Buscemi is great as always. (Chris Walken... 'nuff said!)

Great ending for a character doomed by his bumbling idiot friends. I personally would have done something a bit different with the title. I like the idea, but it is too "clunky" (a line used in the movie). I think simply "Dead in Denver" or even "Denver When You're Dead" Anyway, my crappy little 2 cents. I really enjoy this film and would recommend it to anyone.

Truly Bad

[lgjones-2 · 1/10 · 5 October 1999]

This may be the worst movie I have ever seen. The actors were excellent, but the writing is terrible. The idea that the young man who is presented with the completely out of control Treat Williams, will continue to bait him until he brutally murders him is too ridiculous to contemplate. 10 for acting, 0 for plot.