Quirky, slow and as strange as the true-life case on which it's based, this is a star-studded study of a philandering, food-loving Italian (Kevin Kline) and the wife (Tracey Ullman) and mother-in-law (Joan Plowright) who decide to do away with him. Stir in River Phoenix as their helper, William Hurt and Keanu Reeves as stoned-out amateur assassins and an unbilled Phoebe Cates (Kline's real-life wife) and you have a mixture that tickles the ribs but never produces a lethal dose of laughter. The succession of failed attempts on Kline's life should be absolutely hilarious, but the comedy is often too dark and/or flatly directed to be really funny. Incidentally, with credits for films getting longer and sillier by the year, you'll notice one here for `pizza consultant'. That has to be a first.


©ipc tx. Film content from TVTimes