Mad Dog and Glory (1993) / Comedy-Drama

MPAA Rated: R for sexuality, language, violence and drug content
Running Time: 97 min.

Cast: Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Bill Murray, David Caruso, Mike Starr, Kathy Baker
Cameo: Richard Belzer
Director: John McNaughton
Screenplay: Richard Price
Review published March 2, 1997

This quirky comedy stars Robert De Niro (Goodfellas, Midnight Run) as Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie, a timid police photographer who saves the life of a local crime boss, Frank (Bill Murray, Groundhog Day), during a robbery. Frank befriends Wayne, and later offers the services of a female bartender, Glory (Uma Thurman, Final Analysis), to look after him for a week. Conflict-of-interest already notwithstanding, things become even tenser when Wayne begins to fall for the troubled woman and doesn't want to give her back.

Mad Dog and Glory is offbeat fun, even if it never amounts to anything special. It does feature some rather unique casting choices, with the roles being reversed, going against type, with Murray performing admirably as the tough guy mob boss and De Niro even more impressive as the down-and-out loser cop. As a comedy, it's pleasant enough, yet doesn't seem to have the juice to be laugh-out-loud funny, if that's what you're seeking.

Mad Dog and Glory falls under the category of being amore interesting film than it is a good one, However, there's enough to like to get a modest recommendation, even if the performances and situations could have been better served in a film with a better storyline.

Qwipster's rating: 

©1997 Vince Leo