In 1998 Universal schedule Meet Joe Black as it's big summer release. Unfortunately director Martin Brest was not done editing the film in time for it's June 26th release date. Rather than take the film from him and edit it themselves, the studios rescheduled the picture for November 1998. In order to fill the hole left in the calendar Universal moved Out Of Sight from it's fall schedule and dropped it into the big Fourth Of July weekend spot where it was competing with Armageddon, Doctor Dolittle and Mulan. The film received unanimous critical praise, but failed to find an audience and disappeared. It was nominated for multiple awards and has developed a cult following, but never received the general audience acclaim it deserved.
Steve Soderbergh created a smart, witty, stylized, sexy thriller that features one of George Clooney's best performances. It was based on a book by Elmore Leonard and features a crackling script by Scott Frank. The entire cast from, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zhan, Dennis Farina, Don Cheadle, Albert brooks, Nancy Allen, Isaiah Washington, Catherine Keener, Luis Guzman, Keith Loneker to Micheal Keaton and Samuel Jackson in cameos are terrific. But it's the romantic chemistry between Lopez and Clooney that takes the film to a whole new level. The film unfolds with great skill and uses complex flash-backs to propel the narrative. Clooney became a leading man with this role and Lopez has never been better.
The plot: Jack Foley (Clooney) is a unsuccessful, successful bank robber (he's robbed over two hundred banks, but frequently gets caught). With the help of Buddy (Ving Rhames) he is busting out of Florida State prison. By coincidence Federal Marshall Karen Sisco (Lopez) arrives at the prison at the moment of the jail break. In order to get away he abducts her and conceals himself and her in the trunk of her car while Buddy drives away. Sisco gets away from Foley and Buddy with the help of their accomplice Glenn (Steve Zahn) and now things get complicated. Sisco needs to catch Foley, but she is strangely attracted to him. Foley can't get the Federal Marshall out of his mind and seems willing to be re-captured in order to talk with her.
The action moves to Detroit where Foley, Buddy, Glenn are involved with a diamond heist. Unfortunately Glenn blabbed about the heist to Maurice Miller (Cheadle) and ex-con buddy of theirs, so now he is in on the heist with his crew Kenneth and White Boy Bob.
Everything comes to a head at the Detroit mansion of Wall Street financier, and also ex-con, Richard Ripley.
At the Movie House **** stars
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