THE BOONDOCK SAINTS UNRATED SPECIAL EDITION
Like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction or Natural Born Killers this stunning looking hyper-violent often funny film is loaded down with irony but unlike those films I didn't become invested in the characters in a way that makes the difference between a movie that is merely entertaining and one that provokes deep thought about big issues. Inviting us to fantasize more than it challenges us to think The Boondock Saints skirts greatness offering, instead, some truly breathtaking moments of gunplay, a stunningly funny performance by Willem Dafoe as a gay FBI agent, and Billy Connelly which is itself a recommendation for any film regardless of it's imperfections. In this BS is a better movie than say Hostel- another exploitive film that has delusions of profundity.
When fate, intervenes in the lives of two decidedly rough around the edges Irish meat packers they begin to wonder if God has chosen them to carry out his wrath upon criminals that are taking over the city they live in. A series of unlikely assassinations soon has them pursued by a brilliant gay FBI Agent played with hilarious relish by Willem Dafoe and eventually by an equally brilliant mob assassin played by Connelly.
Boondock Saints is so full of irony it reminds me of a statement fellow critic Roger Ebert recently made to snakesonablog when asked to compare Snakes on A Plane to Casablanca.
"I'm tired of the age of irony.... [I]rony is also just an excuse to avoid doing the heavy lifting of important art, you know? If you don't go to see great movies, or read great books, or go to great theater, or look at great television, then you don't have to think about it and you can just master trivia. And then when you're 35 you can sit around drinking beer with your high school buddies and, you know, chat your life away."
Movies like Boondock Saints are fun but they make me feel like that character Chris Farley used to play on SNL. A celebrity would come on Farley's talk show and Farley would launch into "Remember when, when you.... And then.... And then.... I loved that, man. That was so cool!" I have plenty of room for movies that prompt this response in my life. But when a movie offers up a profound question we have to ask "Does this film ask a question because the answer might be sensational, or because it's looking to get closer to the truth?"
Of course the ultimate irony here is we all know by now that Troy Duffy basically shot himself in the foot by his bad ultra diva behavior in Hollywood relegating this (and in all probability any projects in the near future) to the bargain bins. That why Boondock Saints can be had so cheap my friends. A great documentary that shows Duffy driving that self destructive process is called Overnight and one wishes it were included as part of this SE.
Basically there is a good chance Boondock Saints spurs conversation but it doesn't add much to it. Therefore I would say the biggest sin the movie commits is that it only effectively preaches to two kinds of people. Those already convinced that use of vigilante force is good or bad, moral or immoral. And those who love to sound smart when they drink with their geek buddies. It promotes an attitude not an informed opinion.
Having said that I sure own this SE. It is full of fabulous extras. You get everything from the first edition including Commentary by writer/director Troy Duffy, Outtakes, Trailer, Cast and crew filmographies, deleted scenes, and you also get a brand new Commentary by actor Billy Connolly and Printable script option. The packaging is also pretty nifty. The two-disc set is offered in a metal case with a nifty Celtic cross design.
