Review of Mad Dog and Glory

Mad Dog and Glory is a very over-looked film from the early nineties, which I find odd, given the star-studded cast. I suppose this can be attributed to the fact that it just doesnt fit well into any genre-mold. It has shades of alot of things (mob-movie, romance, dark comedy, spoof, cop-drama) but doesn't quite commit to any of them. I guess this could be frustrating to some, but I think this film's charm lies in its versatility. Mad Dog and Glory is a fun and watchable film that doesn't call too much attention to itself. It works best as a comedy, many of the jokes flying under the radar, and many of them subtley poking fun of overly-dramatic mob films by providing a more understated-- perhaps more realistic-- alternative. Other points of humor are dry and abundant. And when I wasn't laughing I found myself engaged in this movie's romantic side. While not the most moving love story ever told, it is a sincere one with enough at stake that we really want things to go right for the smitten De Niro and Thurman. De Niro shines in his role as a veteran cop, and an all around good man, a lonely man. And Thurman is endearing as a common, every-day young woman, energetic toward life, and noble in her ordinariness. Opposite our two unheroic heros is Bill Murray, a somewhat sleazy opportunist, who despite his lesser traits, maintains a certain, sort of backward sense of honor and decency. Finally, David Caruso is as good as I've seen him in this one as the hard-boiled, smartass cop who at every chance looks out for his partner and strives for a general state of rightness in the world. And it doesn't take much imagining to see his character as a point of inspiration for Mark Whalberg in The Departed. Best of all, with all the strong characters and performances, the script doesn't insist on being a character too. In good movies we forget theres a script at all and thats what happens here. Instead the talented core of actors push the story along with natural, easy expertise.