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‘Once Upon a Time in Venice' Lacking in both action and comedy
Best friends: Bruce Willis plays Steve Ford, a private detective trying to rescue his dog, Buddy, in Once Upon a Time in Venice
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Best friends: Bruce Willis plays Steve Ford, a private detective trying to rescue his dog, Buddy, in Once Upon a Time in Venice.
How far will a man go to rescue his dog? We find that out in Once Upon a Time in Venice, a shaggy-dog story disguised as an action-comedy film.
While the movie’s title may sound like a classic romance film, it is everything but romantic, as Bruce Willis reprises his role as an action star. Willis plays Steve Ford, a licensed private detective who gets involved in various indignities while trying to recover his stolen dog from a drug dealer.
While the premise is simple, the rest of the story is a complex intertwining of competing interests.
The story begins with the returning of a missing Samoan beauty (Jessica Gomes) to her protective brothers, in addition to the unmasking of a pornographic graffiti artist vandalizing a building. Fortunately, Steve gets help from a number of foolish characters like his socially awkward sidekick John (Thomas Middleditch), who contributes to the comedic side of the movie. John takes on a large role in the proceeding the story, giving frequent voiceovers to clarify the plot.
When it comes to undertaking the mission to save Buddy, Steve gets help from his best friend Dave (John Goodman), an emotionally broken man suffering from a divorce crisis. Dave’s addition to the plot is just as confusing as his role. Not only is he clumsy handing his weapons, he also fails to stay alert while trying to save Buddy because of his penchant for cocaine use.
Steve and Dave’s collaboration as a typical fraternal duo fails to shine in a screenplay of forced humor that lacks a true comedic edge.
Considering the film is an action-comedy, it makes sense to expect that the movie would successfully execute the action elements to compensate for its disappointing humor. However, the movie fails to deliver a thrilling action experience as well.
Even Bruce Willis, known for his action-packed performances in the Die Hard series, cannot revive his ruthless character in Once Upon a Time in Venice. Instead, we get a five-minute long sequence of Willis buck naked on a skateboard, trying to evade a couple of Samoan men after being caught in bed with their sister (Jessica Gomes).
The scene, an uncomfortable one to watch, features wide shots of him running and skateboarding, naked.
Serving as the directional debut of Mark Cullen, with co-writer brother Robb, Once Upon a Time in Venice, is a nineties comedy throwback. With a jukebox soundtrack and frequent 1960s surf guitar to distract from the modern rush of the Los Angeles setting.
However, the large chunks of dialogue fall flat with dog drama and tedious scenes of cheesy fighting. Rather than mining for a comic gold, the movie emphasizes Hollywood’s addiction to stereotypical characters, graying white men with beautiful young women, violence and drugs.
It is safe to say that the movie does not do Bruce Willis’s acting justice, and fails to win over the audience with tension and laughter.
— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post
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Once Upon a Time in Venice
(RLJ Entertainment, 94 minutes)
Director: Mark Cullen
Written by: Mark Cullen, Robb Cullen
Starring: Bruce Willis, John Goodman, Jason Momoa
