PLAN B has the appearance of a quickly made, unedited, sloppy script for a movie with the attempt for an outing for the actors involved - an outing that should have been nixed from the start. It is just another Mafia-based 'comedy' that has nothing new and lowers the standard for those participating.Joe Maloni (Paul Sorvino) is the crime boss more concerned about clothing and appearances than about his business of control. His personal assistant Mario (Anthony DeSando) is dumber than dirt and his ignorance is supposed to be funny. Maloni has whacked one of his debtors (who just happens to be married to bookish Fran - Diane Keaton) and Maloni takes Fran on as his assistant to work off her dead husband's debt by being Maloni's 'hit man'. Fran is afraid of her own shadow and is unable to carry out Maloni's assignments, electing instead to transport her 'whackees' to Florida to hide at her brother James' house until she can figure out what to do next. This alternative to killing the three candidates is called Plan B, Plan A being to kill them! The ending is wholly predictable just as is every line assigned in the script to the characters.Diane Keaton has made a lot of fine films and is one of our most talented actresses and comediennes, but here she screams and rants and twitches her way through a ridiculous part that quickly becomes annoying to watch. Paul Sorvino is, well, the Paul Sorvino type cast from other mobster films. The supporting cast is likewise allowed to play to the balcony in the broadest slapstick, pratfall fashion imaginable. What is supposed to be a comedy ends up being just silly and overdone. Director Greg Yaitanes needs to go back to TV sitcoms: had this flimsy story been compressed into a half-hour gig it might have had a chance. Grady Harp
... View MoreThis irreverent comedy rolls along at a great pace, with Diane Keaton's one-liners and witty banter with the rest of the cast. Its a madcap comedy in the style of the 1930s style of comedy. Kind of like "Bringing Up Baby" meets "The Sopranos". In fact I could recognize a bunch of Sopranos actors playing supporting roles here and there. By the end of the movie the situations get so crazy I was really laughing! Anyone who is a fan of mafia related movies must go see this one. What makes this movie really funny is the interaction between all the talented actors. So, in the end, I rate this movie as 'Excellent' and would recommend to anyone.
... View MoreThe plot line is very funny, and right away you know this movie is going to be good. Diane Keaton is perfect in her role, and the concept is kind of like taking a Woody Allen movie and merging it with a Mafioso theme, all in a really clever and funny way. I can definitely watch his movie over and over and find new things to laugh at. Paul Sorvino is also really good, and Natsha Lyonne was in her prime and still on track for a good career for this one. I have a weakness for movies based in New York City, but this one is especially fun because you see good visuals. Strong cast and the movie progresses well. I love quirky comedies and this one is a must see :)
... View MoreThe cast looked promising, the storyline seemed to hold some laughs, and I was in the mood for some off-beat Diane Keaton gangster comedy.Well, there are a few laughs to be had through-out the movie, but most of the time I just thought 'when is something interesting going to happen?' and 'when does Diane stop crying/shouting/babbling hysterically?'. I'm used to watching Diane Keaton playing this type of character, but in this case she really overdid it (may be the Director's fault, who knows). An outright terrible performance is made by Anthony DeSando playing the son/sidekick/whatever of Sorvino's character. The part in itself is exceptionally stupid (very cliché), but DeSando manages to make the character appear so stupid, that it isn't even funny (which I believe it was intended to be).Bob Balaban (as Keaton's brother), Burt Young (as one of the persons she's asked to kill) and sometimes also Maury Chaykin makes the last half the movie somewhat tolerable, after 40 minutes of Keaton freaking out all the time.The movie isn't exactly terrible, but it is the worst Diane Keaton-flick I've seen for some time.
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