Mad Dog and Glory
by John McNaughton
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bill Murray, David Caruso, Mike Starr, Robert De Niro, Uma ThurmanDirector: John McNaughton
Brand: Mad Dog
Cinematographer: Robby Müller
Editor: Craig McKay
Producer: Barbara De Fina
Producer: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Richard Price
Writer: Richard Price
Producer: Steven A. Jones
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
Published: 2004-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-03-02
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Mad Dog and Glory
Movie Review: Unique, funny and refreshingly low-key.
Summary: 5 Stars
The opening scene of director John McNaughton's 1993 low-key-comedy Mad Dog and Glory is quite deceiving. We witness some kind of a drug deal happening in a car, followed by one of the guys getting a bullet in the head spraying his brains all over the passenger side window.
I immediately double-checked the DVD box to make sure this was listed as a comedy. But I stuck with the movie and that opening scene really doesn't have much to do with the overall plot and instead serves as an introduction to the main character, a police photographer named Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie (played in brilliantly understated fashion by Robert DeNiro).
The movie is quite funny at times, and is very low key and relaxed in its pacing. The film doesn't boast what I would call a ton of laugh-out loud moments, but it has a gentle and relaxed sense of humor that is natural and quite refreshing in this day and age of in-your-face gross out comedies.
The film involves Wayne (or Mad Dog as he's called by his friends/co-workers), who is a police photographer who really would like to be a true artist someday instead of a policeman. While in a seedy convenience store one night, he ends up saving mob boss Frank Milo's (Bill Murray) life when a thug holds up the store and almost shoots Frank.
Frank says that he will show his appreciation for what Mad Dog did for him, and ends up inviting him to Frank's club that he runs as sort of a cover for his mob organization. While in the club, Mad Dog meets the beautiful waitress Glory (a radiant Uma Thurman), who accidentally spills scalding hot coffee on Mad Dog's hand. Disgusted by her clumsiness, Frank scolds her in front of Mad Dog and says that he'll make it up to him in the near future. His way of doing that is by sending Glory to stay with Mad Dog for a week as sort of a present (since Mad Dog is a pretty lonely guy). Glory is a naive woman who has ended up being in some sort of debt to Frank, as he sort of "owns" her. She immediately makes it known to Mad Dog that she's not a prostitute, but instead wants to just be good company for him. Mad Dog ends up falling madly in love with her, as she does with him, and when the week is up he refuses to let Glory go back to Frank. Things get interesting when Frank comes looking to get her back in a most laid back and hilarious fashion. (Bill Murray is brilliant.)
What I found most interesting about this movie is that it's a unique mixture of styles. While there are some elements of a love story, the romantic aspect isn't played up nearly as much as it could have been. The movie also has some surprising outbursts of violence that strike a perfect balance between being intense and extremely funny. One interesting thing, is that other than Frank's club, we don't see him in action that much, but instead we hear about stuff that he's doing and/or done in the past. The story about why Glory is in debt to him is actually quite chilling. The movie has a quirky feel to it that was refreshing and genuinely entertaining. I was constantly not sure about what was going to happen next. There is one fairly strong sex scene between Uma and DeNiro, but it fits in with the story and actually has a point in the overall proceedings.
I particularly liked the scenes in which Mad Dog is trying to keep secret from his co-workers the fact that he's accidentally befriended a mob boss and was given Glory as a "present" from Frank.
The whole cast does superb work. Robert DeNiro and Bill Murray play their characters in hilarious understated fashion. Uma Thurman manages to come across as naive, sexy and extremely sweet and really gives the character of Glory a lot of depth and substance. People who seem to always unjustly write Uma off as not being able to act would do well to check out her nuanced performance in this film. One of the funniest characters in the movie though is David Caruso (ex. NYPD Blue) as Mad Dog's best friend and overzealous co-worker. His fist fight with one of Frank's goons in Mad Dog's apartment near the end of the movie is one of the comic highlights of the film.
The film has a very laid back feel to it. Nothing is rushed and scenes are given as much time as they need to expand. There were a few instances near the beginning where I thought that the film felt just a tiny bit lethargic, but it wasn't nothing that greatly diminished my enjoyment of the movie.
Director John McNaughton brings a light, but gritty touch to the proceedings and manages to make a couple of shifts in tone smooth and not jarring. Compare this movie to some of his other films like underrated Wild Things and the infamous Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and it's really quite striking how he managed to bring a proper light touch to the script. He really shows how deep his directorial talents can go.
This is one of those little, unheard-of films that entered and exited theaters without hardly a sound back in 1993. It's truly an underrated gem that is worth checking out especially to see the wonderful ensemble acting by the entire cast. If it's a really quick, snappy in-your-face comedy that you're wanting to see, Mad Dog and Glory will disappoint. But if you're wanting to check out a realistic, refreshingly low-key and original comedy that will keep a steady smile on your face throughout (after you get through the violent beginning), than I highly recommend this film.
Mad Dog and Glory is rated R and contains sexual content, nudity, violence and strong language.
Summary of Mad Dog and Glory
No Description Available.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 2-MAR-2004
Media Type: DVD
Now here's a switcheroo: In a movie about a mild-mannered police photographer who is befriended by a swaggering gangster, Bill Murray plays the gangster and Robert De Niro plays the photographer. Directed by John McNaughton from a script by Richard Price, this comedy-drama has its moments but never quite lifts off. De Niro plays a shy type nicknamed Mad Dog who accidentally saves Murray's life. In gratitude, Murray "gives" him a girl, Glory (Uma Thurman), who is supposed to satisfy his needs and make him feel good. Instead, the photographer falls in love with her. When the gangster wants her back, the photographer says no, triggering an unlikely showdown. Murray is scarily funny as a mobster who wants to be a standup comic, but De Niro plays this nonentity as, well, a nonentity. Thurman is luminous; who wouldn't want to fight over her? --Marshall Fine
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