Movie Review: American Strays

I was immediately intrigued by the movie "American Strays" because... well, the cover looked cool. The title was neat, and the cover had Luke Perry and Jennifer Tilly (with some unknown guy in the middle) holding up guns and looking tough. When I read the back of the case and saw that it was about "10 dangerous strangers" and how their lives intertwine at one diner, I was sold. I knew this movie, at the very least, had to be interesting, if not great.

After watching it last night, I decided that, while interesting, the movie was just okay... for several reasons. First of all, from beginning to end, this movie just tried way too hard to be a Tarantino movie. I can pick out several scenes and characters that seem like downright copies of Tarantino-related films. For example, the couple in the very beginning (the woman especially, with her cherry dress and bra hanging out) were straight out of "True Romance" (a movie written by Tarantino). The mafia men in their suits at the diner, along with most of the ending reminded me of "Reservoir Dogs". The scruffy black man in the wheelchair appeared to be a Samuel L. Jackson substitute, and the vacuum salesman reminded me very much of Harvey Keitel from "Pulp Fiction". The second thing wrong with this movie was that every single scene was desperately attempting to have forced witty dialogue. But, unlike a Tarantino movie, the acting wasn't that great and the dialogue didn't flow well; Both lacked wit, charm, and overall coolness.