Mad Dog and Glory (1993)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Melvin W

  
  Milo: You love her? I own her!  "A cop who'd rather be an artist. A mobster who'd rather be a comic. And a woman who'd rather be anywhere but between them." A lot of great people were at work in Mad Dog and Glory. Robert De Niro, Bill Murray and Uma Thurman… More
  Milo: You love her? I own her!  "A cop who'd rather be an artist. A mobster who'd rather be a comic. And a woman who'd rather be anywhere but between them." A lot of great people were at work in Mad Dog and Glory. Robert De Niro, Bill Murray and Uma Thurman make up the all-star cast. John McNaughton, who directed Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer directed it and Martin Scorsese produced it. With all that talent I expected a much more lively and much funnier film. What I got was an enormous disappointment. There wasn't much I liked about it. I was even taken aback by the performances from De Niro and Murray. They aren't bad, but they don't seem as good as we know they are. A cop saves a mobster's life in a holdup. In order to pay the cop back for saving his life, the mobster gives him a girl that he owns. The girl and the cop fall in love and now they have to decide how to stay together and not have Milo go crazy and kill one or both of them. That plot just isn't all that interesting to me and it is even less interesting on screen then it is on paper.  Mad Dog and Glory ended up being bland, and that is not something you expect when watching a Bill Murray or De Niro film. When I think about it McNaughton directed Henry... in sort of the same fashion. He made everything as dull as possible. In that movie it made sense though. This is supposed to be a comedy and should have been approached much differently. This pretty much shows why he faded away as a director and never really made anything as good or better than Henry.

• Chris G

  
  People are never happy with where they are. You can always do more, even if you think you have what you want. It's never enough when you get there. For Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie (Robert De Niro) the thought of a good retirement and health care as a police forensic… More
  People are never happy with where they are. You can always do more, even if you think you have what you want. It's never enough when you get there. For Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie (Robert De Niro) the thought of a good retirement and health care as a police forensic photography, but he craves to be an artist. He craves to have a girl. He craves to be a tough man, the American ideal like John Wayne. One night he stops by a convenience store and in his own way saves Frank Milo (Bill Murray) from a robber. Frank wants to re-pay Mad Dog for saving him so he gives him a girl named Glory (Uma Thurman) for a week of... whatever. It's in that week that Mad Dog takes to first steps to be the person he wants to be, the problem is that when the weeks up Frank, who happens to be a mobster, wants Glory back to work off the rest of the tab she owes him. There's some weird casting in this. De Niro is the quiet, sky photographer while Bill Murray is the crime lord. It's different and it works. The pair play off each other in a way that is mesmerizing on screen. Bill Murray goes beyond his usual schtick and allows a peak at a dark demon that underlies his character who also spends time as a Mafia stand up comic. This film is one of Uma Thurman's greatest performances, balancing out a naive girl who has learned some street smarts since being under Franks thumb. Frank tells Mad Dog when they meet that he had the ability to fulfill his dreams and that's basically what the film shows in a warped sort of path. Mad Dog and Glory is a great movie with some classic performances that may have been forgotten over the years. It's a lost gem of the early 1990's.

• Mark W

  
  Whatever happened to director John McNaughton? Not since "Wild Things" have I heard his name mentioned. Apparently he is still making stuff but seems to have fallen into T.V. obscurity despite showing some early potential. This, his follow up to the brutal and violent… More
  Whatever happened to director John McNaughton? Not since "Wild Things" have I heard his name mentioned. Apparently he is still making stuff but seems to have fallen into T.V. obscurity despite showing some early potential. This, his follow up to the brutal and violent "Henry: Portrait of a serial killer" follows the story of shy and retiring police detective Wayne Dobie (Robert DeNiro), ironically nicknamed "Mad Dog" due to his gentle nature and lack of machismo. By chance one evening, during a liquor store hold-up, Wayne saves the life of Frank Milo (Bill Murray), who it later transpires is a local influential gangster. As a form of gratitude Milo sends a gift to Wayne in the shape of Glory (Uma Thurman) for Wayne to have "fun" with for a week. After reluctantly accepting, Wayne finds himself falling in love and determined to save Glory from the control and ownership of Milo. Director McNaughton begins this film with excellent use of black and white bursting into colour with the smoke of a crack-pipe during a drug deal. With this edgy beginning it looks like we will be treated to another gritty urban tale like his previous film. However, as the story progresses it falls into romantic comedy territory, which doesn't really gel with some genuinely dangerous situations and characters. The shift in tone doesn't really work and the film can't seem to decide what it wants to be. There's also an uncomfortable message running through it, of glorifying macho behaviour. DeNiro's character is never really accepted until he displays his macho potential and all the other male characters walk around with there chests puffed out and their fists clenched, leaving the females nothing more than cowering damsels in distress in need of saving. This is all a bit of a shame really, as the performances are excellent. DeNiro and Murray could easily have been cast in each others roles to good effect but by being cast against type it keeps them very interesting to watch. David Caruso is also brilliant, reprising his confident "NYPD Blue" type policeman. These fantastic performances are what make this film a standout and worthwhile. Its hard to be overly satisfied with its different tones and uneasy balance with humour and while not entirely successful, it is at least ambitious and does things differently.

• Lady D

  
  I really enjoyed this film, one to just sit back and relax with. Love the more humble parts De Niro plays as well as the powerful. Was this the first film perhaps, to have a crime boss in therapy? before Analyse This/That and The Soprannos?

• xGary X

  
  A pretty decent comedy drama with some odd casting, but lets face it, these you could watch these guys in nearly anything...the plot actually has a little depth considering it's lighthearted approach too.

• Michael S

  
  One of the most underrated films around.

• Dann M

  
  Mad Dog and Glory is a mediocre drama that's a bit weak on story. The film follows "Mad Dog" Dobie, a Chicago cop, who is befriended by Frank Milo, a mobster, after Dobie saves his life, but things turn ugly when a girl comes between them. The film has a good cast… More
  Mad Dog and Glory is a mediocre drama that's a bit weak on story. The film follows "Mad Dog" Dobie, a Chicago cop, who is befriended by Frank Milo, a mobster, after Dobie saves his life, but things turn ugly when a girl comes between them. The film has a good cast that includes Robert De Niro, Bill Murray, and Uma Thurman, and both Murray and Thurman give interesting performances. However, most of the story is underdeveloped, which causes a lot of the intrigue to fizzle out. Mad Dog and Glory starts out interesting enough, but doesn't follow through.

• Mike T

  
  This film's flawed writing has some skewed logistics and minor awkwardness, but for the most part it provides two talented performers some great material to work with. Acting against naturally expected stereotypes, Murray and (especially) De Niro turn in fantastic character… More
  This film's flawed writing has some skewed logistics and minor awkwardness, but for the most part it provides two talented performers some great material to work with. Acting against naturally expected stereotypes, Murray and (especially) De Niro turn in fantastic character portraits. Clumsy direction and an uninspired performance from the beautiful Uma Thurman don't detract from the entertainment factor of this movie. I really enjoyed it.

• Lee K

  
  I think this one was one of the first times i saw Bill Murray in a semi serious role and i was shocked on how well it was done. Good flick all around.

• Anthony V

  
  Bill Murray is a great villian.

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