Product Description

Lonely Chicago police photographer Robert De Niro receives a gift from slick mobster Bill Murray after saving his life: a week with beautiful cocktail waitress Uma Thurman, who works in one of the criminal's clubs. The pair wind up falling in love, but in order to have her, De Niro must take a stand against her gangster boss. Martin Scorsese produced this offbeat comedy-drama. 93 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; theatrical trailer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #101140 in DVD
• Brand: Mad Dog
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Released on: 2004-03-02
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .24 pounds
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.com
Now here's a switcheroo: In a movie about a mild-mannered police photographer who is befriended by a swaggering gangster, Bill Murray plays the gangster and Robert De Niro plays the photographer. Directed by John McNaughton from a script by Richard Price, this comedy-drama has its moments but never quite lifts off. De Niro plays a shy type nicknamed Mad Dog who accidentally saves Murray's life. In gratitude, Murray "gives" him a girl, Glory (Uma Thurman), who is supposed to satisfy his needs and make him feel good. Instead, the photographer falls in love with her. When the gangster wants her back, the photographer says no, triggering an unlikely showdown. Murray is scarily funny as a mobster who wants to be a standup comic, but De Niro plays this nonentity as, well, a nonentity. Thurman is luminous; who wouldn't want to fight over her? --Marshall Fine

From The New Yorker
A strange and unsuccessful brew stirred up by screenwriter Richard Price and director John McNaughton. Love comes to a lonely cop called Wayne (Robert De Niro) when he saves the life of a Mafia smoothie (Bill Murray), who offers him a week's worth of Glory (Uma Thurman) by way of reward. Unlikely plots can be fun, but only if everybody is prepared to pitch in; this one feels graceless and trumped-up, and not even the spirited efforts of Bill Murray can kick it into life. McNaughton is looking for something else, and spends the whole film not getting there: it sets off violently, tries a few jokes, changes tack to a mooching sadness, and finally settles for an old-style punch-up. Only great directors can cram this many tones into a movie and make all of them tell, and McNaughton (who previously made "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer") doesn't qualify. De Niro seems to be putting on a show rather than lighting his character up from the inside, although he does have a couple of convincing scenes with Uma Thurman; moviegoers may have forgotten just how nervy and maladroit screen lovers can be. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker