Christina Kirk, Harvey Fierstein, John Hamburg

A tale about two tremendously untalented singers who, in a classic case of mistaken identity, are believed to be the best safe crackers in Providence, Rhode Island. Thought to be criminals, the pair a...( read more  read more... )re drawn to the not-so-nefarious netherworld of the city's Jewish mafia, a "mob" that seems to consist of two men, Big Fat Bernie Gayle and his rival Good Stuff Leo. Wrongly pegged as the master safe crackers by Bernie's henchmen, Veal Chop, Sam and Eddie are somewhat unsuspecting of the complex nature of the work ahead of them. Pressed into service by Bernie, who forces them to perform a series of heists for which they are woefully unprepared, the duo find themselves running interference with actual safe crackers Mitchell and Frank and taking both credit and blame for the latter pair's brilliantly executed break-ins.

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62% liked it

1,795 ratings

Critics

56% liked it

18 critics

R, 1 hr. 39 min.

Directed by: John Hamburg

Release Date: August 7, 1998

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DVD Release Date: August 15, 2006

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Flixster Reviews (145)


  • June 11, 2009
    Eddie: Sam this man is in the mafia, he's not going to let us off the hook if we give him a fucking basket of sundry goods
    Sam: Oh, but he's in the Jewish mafia, I'm sure that's more of like a club than a criminal organization

    An overall charming film that is very flawed do to ...( read more)its style, but the great cast and moments of inspired hilarity make it all worth it.

    Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn play unsuccessful singers mistaken for two expert safe crackers (actually played by Mark Ruffalo and Josh Pais). They are forcefully brought in by a mobster, Veal Chop played by Paul Giamatti, and forced to pull a number of safe cracking jobs for Jewish mob boss, Big Fat Bernie Gayle played by Michael Lerner (who seems like he's going to have a heart attack in every scene). During this time, Rockwell's character falls in love with the daughter of one of the men who is supposed to be being robbed by them.

    There is a lot of plot, but its not really confusing because the movie exists in a world that is way to quirky for its own good. Sure its a comedy, but the way the people exist in this world is way to precious. The conversations walk a very fine line between being funny and going overboard in stylization.

    All of this being said, the cast is quite good. Rockwell, always solid, plays the awkward lead very well. Zahn is a bit dialed down from other, funnier characters he has played. Giamatti was probably my favorite character in this movie, as he actually had some layers. Ruffalo plays a lovable loser type, despite being a crook with emotional problems. Then you have Harvey Fierstein in a movie where he doesn't play an openly gay man.

    Its a very lighthearted crime comedy that certainly means well and scores few originality points, but pushes its charm way to hard to be better.

    Sam: Sweet 'stache.
    Frank: Thanks, bro.
  • March 15, 2007
    Kind of fun with great humor elements though nothing that had me in stitches.

    Frakkin' awesome cast, but needed more Giamatti. In fact, I would argue that every film ever made needs more Giamatti. That's just my opinion though.

    Sam Rockwell = YES!
  • March 10, 2007
    Steve Zahn and Sam Rockwell are hilarious in this movie. Great and a must see.
  • July 2, 2009
    What the f? Rockwell, Zahn & Giamatti and you somehow make a crap-ass movie? I was so confused by the hack ending that I couldn't get properly pissed about the rest of this shit storm.
  • April 10, 2009
    No thanks - Not interested
  • October 14, 2008
    smartly dumb funny...hwahahaha...
  • September 29, 2008
    Really not anywhere close to being a good movie, which is a major disappointment considering the talent in the cast. It's mostly just really painful and awkward, but there are some moments of comedy goodness. Even the random inclusion of NHL hockey does nothing to strengthen this...( read more) for me. The premise has some potential, but this movie is just completely flat. Boring.
  • October 20, 2007
    I totally enjoyed this...

    It's a very low key comedy with some great characters and some very amusing one liners. It's the kind of film that creeps up on you, perhaps not straight away but I get the feeling that repeat viewings will cement this one as a goddie for me.

    The c...( read more)asting is spot on. Sam and Steve are fab and Rufallo steals scenes with his stache alone. The sweatsuit mafia casting is great too. Michael Lerner kinda reminded me of Fat Tony which can never be a bad thing and Giamitti was just pure gold.

    It's not perfect and I guess a lot of people will just not connect to it, but for me, this is good stuff.
  • September 23, 2007
    Believe it or not I felt this was wroth seeing a few times. Perhaps it looks like one of those b-grade silly humours I hate so much but it just didn't quite pan out that way and for some reason is better than that. Good laughs at last.

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Safe Men Trivia


  • What movie is this quote from: "She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really... except for Elizabeth, who is in fact, a woman."   Answer »
  • finish this quote: "She's safe, just like I ______. And she's set to marry Norrington, just like she ______. And you get to die for her, just like you ______. So we're all men of our word, really. Except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."  Answer »
  • In what movie is this quote: "Don't worry, she's safe, just as I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just as she promised. And you get to die for her, just as you promised. So, we're all really men of our word."   Answer »
  • Which actor connects these following movies? just Like Heaven In the Cut Zodiac Safe Men Rumour Has It Collaterall The Last castle We Don't Live Here Anymore View From the Top  Answer »

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