The Divide in this Movie is those who find Vince Vaughn's Character Either Annoying and Intolerable and those that Think it is Funny. There is no Doubt that it is Irritating, but that is the Point. It is an Amusing, Over the Top Demented Take on the Low Level Mob Type and Obnoxious, but Lovable Buddy that Without Doubt Propels most of the Movie on its Quirky Road to Redemption.It is a Fun Film and a Playful Take on the Mob Comedy with Cameos from a lot of the Sopranos Cast and there is some Good Bits along the Way. There is Enough to Grab a Hold of and it Hardly Loses its Appeal because it is so Full of Interesting Characters and Offbeat Amusements. There are Word Plays and Slapstick, Irony and Irresistible Ill Fitting People Trying to Fit In and Force Situations that can be quite Edgy. Again, if by the Mid Point Vaughn's Ricky gets Under Your Skin, all is Lost. If not Buckle Up and Enjoy this Off Center Movie for what Charm it Exudes, and there is Plenty of it.

It's strange, but when I had finished watching the full 90 minutes of this unusual but decent Movie that it felt like I was watching a gritty drama rather than an off-beat, dark comedy. Vince Vaughn was decent, but never seemed to keep his mouth shut. Constantly harassing people and winding them up with 600 questions per minute. (It felt that much) His acting wasn't bad, but got on my nerves at times. Jon Favreau wasn't bad himself. The film actually opens up like an old Rocky film in a boxing ring with the huge US flag shown dominating the room. It definitely felt more realistic than any Rocky film and the cuts & black eyes looked real. Great job with the face make-up. At times it was almost documentary like as me myself loving realistic movies as I do, it made the film look promising. But the acting wasn't spectacular and I did find that Ricky Slade irritated me with the countless interrogations. Bobby & Ricky are sent on a job by bobby's father, Max, whom doesn't like or trust Bobby's lifelong friend Ricky because of an incident involving a carpet cleaning van. They fly across the states to stay at a luxury hotel. During the plane journey, Ricky constantly harasses a waitress who threatens to get him in deep trouble. They arrive at the hotel and it isn't long till they fight and smash a lamp because Ricky refuses to give Bobby the phone. The film certainly becomes darker and grittier from them on. I did think it was worth the watch, and with it not being a long Movie, I give it a 6.5 out of 10.

I saw 'Made' shortly after it was released on video back in 2002, and just recently again on Netflix. The first time, I had to turn it off because the Vince Vaughn character was just awful. This time around I managed to watch all the way through, and while I'm glad I did, I have to say that I still found Vince Vaughn to drag the entire film down around him. Yes, I know that he was supposed to be obnoxious and annoying. I realize that. But it was completely overboard. To the point that it actually caused the entire premise of the film to make less sense. It's briefly alluded early in the picture that Ricky (Vaughn) looked out for Bobby (Favreau) on at least one occasion when they were in high school, and therefore Bobby feels like it's his responsibility to now look out for Ricky. But really, that only takes you so far. It's not like Ricky saved his life, or did something really profound and selfless. Nothing that would justify the kind of unconditional loyalty that Bobby clearly must hold for Ricky in order to tolerate even five minutes in his company, much less the constant barrage of sheer stupidity and abhorrent behavior that he endures throughout the film. And it's not like Ricky shows a softer side in private when it's just the two of them, to at least provide a degree of sympathy and a bit of realistic justification for their relationship... No, he's just as bad when nobody else is around. And Bobby is best friends with him why again? He took him on that trip for what reason? That question is never sufficiently explained, and the film suffers greatly for it, because it's really the foundation for the films' whole premise. Had they reigned in the Vaughn character just a little bit, the whole thing would have made much more sense. But aside from that, the rest of the movie is fairly competent and enjoyable. I grew up in NYC and was in my early 20's when this was filmed and frequented most of the locations used, so it brought back some fond memories for me. Famke Janssen was very good as the irredeemable stripper/prostitute girlfriend, and the ending was bittersweet and somewhat unexpected. It's overall not the greatest film ever made, but worth watching.

A Los Angeles working-stiff with a stripper girlfriend partners with his childhood pal--a screw-up he feels an undisclosed loyalty to--in a money laundering drop for the girlfriend's boss, a low-rent mobster. The two men are flown to New York City, arguing all the way, where they meet up with their connection, a mild-mannered gangster from Scotland nicknamed "The Red Dragon". Fidgety, foul-mouthed, half-comic crime flick with a loose cannon performance by Vince Vaughn, who dances on the razor's edge for nearly the entire 95 minutes. Jon Favreau (who wrote the script, directed, and served as co-producer of the film with Vaughn) plays the more level-headed of the two, and he's certainly easier to take, but after 45 minutes the picture still hasn't gotten started. Favreau seems to think character quirks are enough to hold interest, yet his characters are misogynistic, homophobic, trash-talking would-be hipsters who pound away at each other like infantile siblings. It's just possible that some may see Vaughn's volatile acting as some sort of tour de force; he shoots up with this performance like a speed demon, ranting angrily like a man possessed. It takes some time getting adjusted to--and once the audience does, they've had enough. *1/2 from ****