Made (2001)

Can't Tell When Enough is Enough

Made is a friendship study and comedy that doesn't know when to step on the brakes before it turns itself in to a one-note shtick movie. It lives and dies on the chemistry between the two leads, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. For the most part, the chemistry is very natural, and both play their parts well. However, the longer it goes, the more the chemistry doesn't matter as the irritation level rises. And, unfortunately for the movie, nothing else is there to save it from the bad taste that it could leave in your mouth.

There's a story here, although all it serves to do is to drive along the proceedings so that we can get as much of the Favreau/Vaughn relationship as possible. Favreau plays Bobby, an aspiring boxer in Los Angeles. Vaughn is Ricky, his best friend. The two grew up together, and Bobby looks out for Ricky, making sure that Ricky is able to have access to the same sources of income that he has for himself. The primary source is a connection to mob boss Max (Peter Falk), who has Bobby perform minor jobs, such as assisting in construction, and escorting and overseeing a stripper named Jessica (Famke Jannsen). Bobby also happens to love Jessica and her daughter Chloe (Makenzie Vega), so the job is a little personal to him too.

When Bobby botches one of Jessica's gigs, it lands him in hot water with Max. Max offers him a job to make up for it, and Bobby, ever looking out for his friend, insists that Ricky also be in on it. The job is simple: carry pagers to New York, receive pages, and follow orders efficiently and without question. This sets up a trip in which the main focus is not to see what mob-related hijinks the pair find themselves in, but mainly to watch the humorous banter between Bobby and Ricky.

The banter really isn't banter, though. It mostly consists of Ricky mouthing off and saying exactly all the wrong things to hinder and make more difficult what should be an easy operation, and Bobby wearing a scowl and reluctantly enduring all the ridiculous things that come out of Ricky's mouth. I'll say right away here that there is one of two ways a viewer can take this: either Ricky's endless spiel will seem amusing and will therefore be entertaining, or his nearly psychotic unwillingness to cooperate conventionally with anything will annoy you to no end. For me, I'll say it was something in between, leaning more towards the annoyance: at first it was amusing and kind of funny, but by the end of the movie I was wondering how Bobby could stand keeping this ungrateful guy around as a friend.

Favreau and Vaughn rely on their natural chemistry (which stems from their real-life friendship) to carry the movie. The sad part, though, is that Favreau's character doesn't really get to say all that much, so there's not much in the way of witty repartee. He wears a singular expression, will log some complaints to his friend about his behavior after his own patience has been outlasted, and then just comes to blows with him when talking doesn't work. Vaughn's character, in the meantime, doesn't shut up. His endless yapping is peppered with condescension, bigotry, and f-words, under none of which lie a sense of decent heart or good nature. He often means what he says and what he says is often mean, as he is only meaning to live it up especially at the expense of his friend's good will. Vaughn at least deserves kudos for creating perfectly what he intends to create: a big jerk. Why does Bobby put up with Ricky? At one point it is mentioned that Ricky may have saved Bobby's life, but does that really justify sticking up for someone so selfish and dense that he probably couldn't truly appreciate all that his friend has done for him?

I get the feeling that Favreau doesn't really get how his characters, however well-written they are, will actually appear to his audience. In Swingers, a far superior movie and Favreau's debut as a writer, Vaughn's character Trent may be pushy but his concern for the well-being of his friend is evident, so we can see the decency under the slick facade. Yet, at the end of Swingers a gag is set up such that Trent receives what amounts to be an embarassing comeuppance. In Made, Vaughn's character was defiantly unreasonable and had little in his character that was redeeming. He deserved a comeuppance, but never got one; no one ever really put him in his place, even though I was waiting for it the whole time. Made may be generously received for its well-played characterizations, but one characterization is so hard to endure that it feels like it is challenging the viewer to remain smiling after the whole thing is over.

Rating: 4/10

©Jeffrey Chen, Aug. 14, 2001

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