Recent Reviews for Clay Pigeons
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MCT:August 13, 2008Quirky, comedic and skillfully acted. A light, romp about murder and small-towns and misunderstanding. There's nothing too heavy or grisly about it. Its the perfect tonic to a hard day.
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MCT:May 21, 2008Never thought I see Vince as a bad guy but he pulls out the stops as a homicidal maniac. Rare and good movie indeed
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MCT:May 8, 2008Sheriff Mooney: Promise me something there, will you?
Clay Bidwell: What's that?
Sheriff Mooney: Promise you'll stop finding dead people.
This is a little known flick from 1998 starring Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn, before they became big stars. It's a quirky dark comedy mixed with a mild noir thriller. It has a plot and style clearly influence by movies such as Fargo, Blood Simple and Strangers on a Train.
Director Dennis Dobkin, who would go on to make Wedding Crashers with Vaughn, has been given the chance here to make a quirky character comedy/thriller with visual flare akin to Ridley and Tony Scott, who served as producers on the movie.
The story is set in Mercer, Montana. Phoenix plays Clay, whose best friend has just killed himself in an attempt to frame Clay since he had an affair with his wife Amanda (see what I mean by quirky... in a dark way).
After Clay deals with the body, his problems continue as Amanda makes his life a living hell for him and more unfortunate incidents occur.
Lester Long: You don't know the half of it. I'm like a big fireworks show. I'm pretty bright. Like Lite Brite.
A mysterious cowboy character turns up, calling himself Lester (Vaughn) and befriends Clay, attempting to be his friend. From what we can see of Lester, he is a charmer and loves to have a good laugh and go fishing.
Problems arise as more bodies turn up, prompting an FBI Agent, Janeane Garofalo, to arrive in search of a serial killer, who has stabbed quite a number of women in the area.
You also have the town sheriff, played by Scott Wilson, who may be smarter than he seems to figure out the truth behind the crimes going on.
One thing is for sure, Clay is having a rough month.
This movie is effective in the same way that most Cohen brother films are. The story is fairly simple, but it revolves around characters that we like to observe. They don't necessarily have an arc, but its nice to familiarize ourselves with them and see what happens next.
The three leads are all good, the story works well despite fumbling a bit at the end, it balances the tone well, and the soundtrack is pretty good.
Its a fun little movie if a bit dark.
Dale Shelby: Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! You're standing in evidence!
Sheriff Mooney: Barney!
Dale Shelby: Your deputy's name is Barney? That's great. -
MCT:April 28, 2008I love this film! It is so weird, quirky, and off-beat...and Vince Vaughn is CREEPY in it. It is one of those films I can watch over and over.
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MCT:December 4, 2007Pretty enjoyable for a late 90s flick. It was interesting to see Vaughn and Phoenix before they became huge stars. They were so young!
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MCT:September 24, 2007
Spawned the memorable line from Garofalo "Yo, Barney, you're stepping in evidence!" One of the best dark comedies to ever be filmed and one of the most underrated and lesser-known films of this genre.
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MCT:September 2, 2007
Clay Pigeons is a most under-rated film. A dark comedy that has characters who are more like caricatures, a plot that is strange and weird, yet very engrossing push this film to above average for the genre. A well done directorial debut from David Dobkin, the extremely well written screenplay from Matthew L Healy and surprisingly superb acting from Vince Vaughn make this a must see film for any fans of the dark comedy genre.
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MCT:September 2, 2007
Clay Bidwell has been having an affair with his friend's wife, Amanda, who in turn catches Clay in bed with a waitress from the local diner. To make his life even more miserable, some oddball truck driver named Lester Long believes that he and Clay have become best buddies. In the sleepy Montana town in which he resides, death seems to be following Clay. Death has become so much a part of Clay's world that he's asked to stop finding dead bodies. Eventually, the FBI gets involved when it's discovered that a serial killer they've been chasing may be responsible for some of the bodies and Clay becomes the prime suspect in their investigation. Joaquin Phoenix is perfect as Clay, as is Georgina Cates as the trampy Amanda. Sheriff Mooney is played with subtlety by Scott Wilson and Janeane Garofalo is her sarcastic self as Agent Shelby. Surprisingly, it's Vince Vaughn's brilliant portrayal of Lester that makes this dark comedy/crime drama an overall success.
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MCT:August 19, 2007
I was really into this one until something very unexpected happened that kinda left me.. speechless. Worth watching.
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MCT:August 9, 2007
good movie all around. vince vaugn and joaquin pheonix where damn good even back then. clever script ful of subtle twists kept me glued till the end. gotta love the independants.
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MCT:July 10, 2007
click for review
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MCT:June 21, 2007
Vince Voughn plays an excelent wacko in this flick...this movie is hard, if not imposible to find, in my city anyway....
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MCT:June 8, 2007
I think the movie was greate! Joaquin is so adorable here X] vince was creepy his scaring me little in the movies haha X]
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MCT:May 19, 2007
Not seen by many- but anyone would enjoy this. Get cast- Vince Vaugh, HUBBA. Funny, funny and quirky.
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MCT:May 9, 2007
Vince Vaughn is the creepiest friendly guy I have seen in this film. All the while I can still laugh at him and his hijinks. Good Stuff.
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MCT:May 9, 2007
I thought that the movie was great and no, not just because of the Joaquin love scenes so shut up. I actually thought Georgia Cates and Vince Vaughn were great.
It was clever and even though the plot was impropable, but it was believable because the acting was well done. -
MCT:April 22, 2007Wow that was a... weird movie.. I really like both Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn, and they played really good in this. It just ain't a movie in my taste.
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MCT:April 19, 2007
It's been awhile since I've seen this movie but really liked it. Seems like it kind of just disappeared over the years.
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MCT:April 1, 2007
Underated movie. Joaquin Phoenix and Vince Vaughn play off of each other very well. This movie will have you guessing the whole time. Very nice twist at the end.
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MCT:March 9, 2007
an intense film that seems pointless until about 20mins in and the plot becomes more stable and the story progresses into a very funny and complicated accients and coinsedents.
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MCT:February 26, 2007
Vince Vaughan isn't a comedic 'genius' in my opinion. He's a really smart actor, like he shows here.
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MCT:February 16, 2007
This is a creepy movie...
Don't watch it right before you go to bed... unless you can watch Flava Flav or the Anna Nicole Smith show after
But Vince Vaughn, as usual, rocked! -
MCT:January 16, 2007
What a great movie! Many twists and turns and some really freaky sh*t goes on in this one. If you like Vince Vaughn, you need to see this.
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MCT:January 14, 2007
Very strange movie, probably an acquired taste but it's blend of humour and ballsy strangeness (dunno how else to describe it) was really interesting.
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MCT:January 2, 2007
vince vaughn's performance is great in this very odd movie. Although I discovered this gem of craziness late in life I really enjoyed it for all it's badness.
