‘Catch .44’ is a tribute to Tarantino

Aaron Harvey’s new film, Catch .44, looks and feels like a Quentin Tarantino rough draft. That’s not to say the 94-minute feature is ineffective. In fact, the performances from Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis and Malin Akerman are engaging and entertaining. The movie is quick enough to never outstay its welcome, and the plot is mostly invigorating. Catch .44 may not be terribly original, but it executes the crime thriller formula with flair.

Willis plays Mel, a drug and stripper-club kingpin presiding over the rural nothingness of backwoods Louisiana. He calls the shots, and if you disagree with his decisions, you probably have seconds, not minutes, to live. Willis has a lot of fun with the role, never overplaying the part or stroking a sleeping cat with an evil cackle. He’s a slovenly put-together crime lord with a penchant for eating pecans, someone who seems to have stumbled into the dark side, in between hookers and booze.

Mel has several deputies in his syndicate, and chief among them is Ronny (Whitaker), a strange dude who seems two doctor visits shy of psychosis. We first meet him after he’s stopped by a parish trooper on a dark stretch of the highway. Ronny has a gun with a silencer, while the trooper has his naiveté. It doesn’t take Nostradamus to realize how the situation ends up.

Mel also has three pretty ladies working as drug mules and hit women. Tes (Akerman), Kara (Nikki Reed) and Dawn (Deborah Ann Woll) are gorgeous and deadly; this triumvirate doesn’t mind getting its hands dirty, just as long as there’s a big payout at the end of the day.

The women are given the difficult task of intercepting a large dope deal, and, as these things go, all hell breaks loose at a run-down diner in the middle of nowhere. All of the characters emerge for one final showdown. Blood is spilled. Bodies drop to the floor. And the smell of money pollutes the air.

The similarities between Catch .44 and Reservoir Dogs are evident. When each character is first introduced in the film, the action stops for a second and their name is emblazoned across the screen in bright yellow letters. The editing is quick, the soundtrack is catchy and the dialogue has that hyper-reality feel. Heck, the opening scene is almost identical to Pulp Fiction (a movie also starring Willis). In this one, the three hit women are sitting around a restaurant table discussing their future plans, and then all of a sudden they pull out guns and stick up the joint.

For many fans, these obvious tributes (or glaring ripoffs) will be insurmountable. Why watch a cheap Tarantino knockoff when the real Tarantino is so accessible? Unfortunately, these people will miss a rather good movie in Catch .44. Harvey’s script is smart and lean, and there are few scenes that fell extraneous. Occasionally, the conversations run a bit too long, especially during a penultimate sequence in the diner where several characters are pointing guns at each other. But, for the most part, Harvey’s choice of words, often peppered with precise profanity, hit their mark.

One error can be found with Brad Dourif’s character, who only turns up for a short time period and seems to be the victim of overanxious editing. There’s truly no reason why this character (and this great character actor) are needed in the movie.

The violence is flashy, but smartly staged. There’s a true sense of intensity throughout the entire film, and the settings, especially the diner, are captured nicely by the cameras.

If watching good-looking women brandishing weapons sounds like a home run, Catch .44 will delight. If you’re looking for anything deeper, rent a Tarantino flick.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Catch . 44

• 2011

• Written and directed by Aaron Harvey

• Starring Bruce Willis, Forest Whitaker, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Deborah Ann Woll and Brad Dourif

• Running time: 94 minutes

• Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some sexual content

• Rating: