U Turn (1997)

Strong and Moving!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Probably my favorite film by Oliver Stone and one of my favorite opening scenes. Seems to me this film is about the state of the nation when the Indians had the land and the state its in now. None of the reviews I've read of this film have mentioned the images of Indian tribes people that pop onto the screen at various times during the movie. All of the characters in the movie betray each other at some stage. Sort of harks back to the times of broken treaties. Great shots of of the landscape go unnoticed by the the characters as they go about their selfish enterprises. Respect for the land and for one another gone. Amidst some of the humour a sad undertone.

Oliver Stone's film is full of quirky characters and does a U-turn from being a complicated little thriller into the realm of black comedy.Stone turned up the irony knob just a little too high in "U Turn"; no one wins and everyone meets an end that has its own ironic twist.Sean Penn plays Bobby Cooper, an unlikely tennis coach who is driving across Nevada with a bag of money. He needs to repay a debt to criminals who have cut off two of his fingers to expedite the repayment. He takes a U-turn off the main road when his prized, 1964 and a half Mustang Convertible bursts a radiator hose. He ends up in Superior, a dilapidated town 200 miles from Phoenix.Bobby leaves his car to be fixed at a repair shop on the edge of town run by the disgustingly dirty and dentally challenged Darrell played by Billy Bob Thornton.He meets Grace McKenna, Jennifer Lopez's character, who invites him home to help her hang curtains. When Grace's husband Jake, played by Nick Nolte, finds them together, he punches Bobby. Not your typical hero, Bobby falls to the floor whining. He can't take a trick. Robbed, beaten up, conned and used, he has little control over his life. Even his mother hangs up the phone when he rings her for help.Although Jake initially dismisses Bobby as a wimpy, pipsqueak, he offers him money to kill Grace, noting of Bobby's character, "You're a man without scruples," also telling him not to be offended because, "A man who's got no ethics is a free man." At first, Bobby refuses the offer, but after his fortunes plunge even further, he has second thoughts and agrees to kill Grace, leading to more double and triple crosses than it would be thought possible to cram into one movie.As Bobby becomes more involved with Grace, he discovers that she is also Jake's daughter – a U-turn into Roman Polanski territory. However, the surprise twist in Polanski's Chinatown is just more plot overkill in "U Turn". Eventually Bobby and Grace plan to get rid of Jake and take his money.Grace McKenna is very much sought after by men in this movie; an interest that proves fatal to all of them. However, Bobby Cooper is not quite besotted enough to want to share Jake's money with her, and they try to outmanoeuvre each other at every turn. The most ironic twist of all is reserved for Bobby when he is virtually the last man standing.No tricky camera angle is avoided in "U Turn", and like so much else in the film, this is overdone to the point that you almost expect every scene to be reflected in someone's sunglasses or viewed between the cameraman's legs.Despite its pretentiousness, the spectacular cast and the outrageous plot keep you going until the end – even if that ending is a bit of a letdown.

Wow. What a weird movie. And from Oliver Stone no less.But what a cast! Penn, Nolte, Lopez, Boothe, Voight, Thorton, Phoenix, Danes...etc.I expected a little more intensity from Penn. he seemed to weak and easily manipulated. But his character seem to demanded him to be that way.Nolte as the dirty old man who is and has been basically "raping" his step-daughter Lopez, was OK. He seemed very thin back in 1997. maybe the role demanded it.Lopez as the "femme fatale" per say did OK also. Her scenes of making love with Penn and Nolte just did not seemed convincing at all. But still, she held her own with the these two "heavyweights" of the cinema.Boothe was once again doing yet another part as a sheriff. But I felt he was wasted as usual. he really didn't have much to do but just get killed.Phoenix as T.N.T was a treat. he seemed to remind me of a young Ray Liotta. Intense and psychotic at the same time. All for the "love" of a woman. He was one of the memorable characters of the this unusual film.Danes was wasted as his "girl" who really wants to leave this hick town and leave with Penn. Thus inciting Phoenix's jealousy big-time.Thorton for me stole the picture along with Phoenix. Thorton's 'Darrell' embodied the true redneck nightmare one can encounter in these small one-horse towns. He's scary and funny at the same time. A real complete treat of casting here for Billy Bob.Voight, I did not recognize at 1st! that's how much i was paying attention. But it's because I was focusing on the other characters in the film. Voight's blind guy was somewhat memorable once you know it's him under that makeup.Julie Hargerty's waitress was OK but her scenes were way to short to appreciate them, plus she was somewhat exemplified a little exaggerating as a typical redneck town waitress.Laurie Metcalf fared a little better as the Bus Station Clerk giving Penn a hard time for not having the exact amount to buy a ticket for the bus. But again her role was brief. good but brief.Abraham Benrubi as a biker/thief was also way too brief and was also wasted. he could have been an interesting character, but was blown away way to quickly. And by a little old lady no less! I would have had him cast as the Russian enforcer who shows up at the town looking for Penn. But alas I'm not the writer of the film. Shame. But the two stars that I have no idea why they were in the movie at all because their roles were so inconsequential, that any bit-extra actor could have done their brief cameos!! I'm talking about the great Bo Hopkins and the lovely Liv Tyler. Hopkins cameo just didn't make sense to me. He's in the diner when Penn encounters Phoenix and Danes for the 1st time, but he is just a simple customer in the background!? What the hell? I believe he didn't even have any lines!? I think Stone could have put him to better use as the sheriff of the town. And had Boothe as the mafia guy that Penn owed money to.But the worst cameo was Tyler's blink or you'll miss her as the customer behind Penn at the bus station wanting to buy a ticket and Metcalf's clerk is so distraught over Penn's emotional outburst, that she closes for the day leaving Tyler like "what the hell?" Exactly. what the hell Stone? What was the point of even having her in the bit scene? I guess we will never know. just like the point of this exaggerating pulp nonsense.

What a wild ride this is with a sleazy, quirky assortment of characters. Billy Bob Thornton is a hoot as the gas station attendant. Jennifer Lopez is as hot as ever. But everybody is watching out for everybody in this "noire" classic. There are twists and turns galore and we never quite know what is around the corner. Expect the unexpected. It's got a great assortment of stars, who all play their different roles to perfection in this desert saga of intrigue, bloodlust and murder. Yes the bloodlust can get carried away at times, but it's still a great watch. It's also got humour and a great wrap-up at the end!