Knockaround Guys (2001)
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20% of critics liked it
(99 reviews) -
56% of users liked it
(39,155 ratings)
A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this crime comedy. Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss, Benny "Chains" Demaret (Dennis Hopper). When Matty was 12 years old, Benny and Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) decided to see… More A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this crime comedy. Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss, Benny "Chains" Demaret (Dennis Hopper). When Matty was 12 years old, Benny and Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) decided to see if Matty had what it took to be in the mob; they gave the boy a gun and ordered him to shoot a longtime enemy of the family. Matty lacked the nerve to do it, and ever since, Benny has been convinced his son is a coward. As an adult, Matty is stuck between a rock and a hard place; he'd like to work as a sports agent, but his family's criminal ties make that all but impossible, and his dad won't give him a chance in the family's operations. Uncle Teddy decides to give Matty a chance to make good by asking him to pick up a payment of $500,000 in Spokane, WA. Matty puts together a crew of three friends, all sons of mob guys, to help him out: muscle bound Taylor (Vin Diesel), ladies' man Chris (Andrew Davoli), and cocaine-addled would-be pilot Johnny (Seth Green). Getting the money goes just fine, but during a refueling stop in Montana, Johnny has to hide the money to keep it from being discovered. It's then promptly stolen by a pair of burnouts. When Matty and his crew discover the money is missing, they head back to Montana, but before long, they find out that the sheriff (Tom Noonan) is onto them, and that he has his own plans for the cash; they also learn that Uncle Teddy has some plans he didn't tell them about. Knockaround Guys marked the directorial debut for the screenwriting team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Brian Koppelman, David Levien
- Written By
- Brian Koppelman, David Levien
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Oct 11, 2002 Wide
- On DVD
- Feb 25, 2003
- Studio
- New Line Cinema
Critic Reviews
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
This heist flick about young Brooklyn hoods is off the shelf after two years to capitalize on the popularity of Vin Diesel, Seth Green and Barry Pepper. It should have stayed there.
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Melinda Ennis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Perhaps if co-directors David Levien and Brian Koppelman had spent more time devising a coherent vision for the film, we would not have felt as knocked around after watching it.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
We know the plot's a little crazy, but it held my interest from start to finish.
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Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Will only satisfy those who can't tell the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly.
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Peter Howell, Toronto Star
A guilty pleasure.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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John Malkovich
as Teddy Deserve
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Dennis Hopper
as Benny "Chains" Demaret
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Vin Diesel
as Taylor Reese
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Barry Pepper
as Matty Demaret
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Seth Green
as Johnny Marbles
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Andrew Davoli
as Chris Scarpa
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Tom Noonan
as Sheriff
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Nicholas Pasco
as Freddy the Watch
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John Liddle
as Heslop
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Michael A. Miranda
as Noriega
- Arthur J. Nascarella
- Dov Tiefenbach
- Kevin Gage
- Andy Davoli
