Hand Gun (1994)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Purely Joyful Movie!

A Masterpiece!

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Jack McCallister is a professional criminal who manages a caper in which most of his men are gunned down during an encounter with the police after they have done the job. Jack manages to conceal the money away from all the people that wants a part of it. This includes his two sons, George, who like his father has been in jail for the crimes he has committed, and Michael, a small time con man, who is too shy to follow his old man, or his brother."Hand Gun", directed by Whitney Ransick, is a film that takes a lighter approach to what we see in the movie. Mr. Ransick, who also wrote the screen play, has done a good job with this story that is more of a comedy, than a heavy take a la Tarantino. There is enough blood to parallel those other films, but Mr. Ransick keeps that light touch throughout the picture.The main reason for watching this movie is the cast that was assembled. Treat Williams and Paul Schulze play George and Michael McCallister, two brothers that are as different as day and night. Could both have been sired by Jack McCallister? Well, in many ways, the answer is yes. They have a knack for engaging in crime, each in a different style. The excellent Seymour Cassel plays the father. The supporting cast is also a delight to watch. Michael Imperioli, Michael Rappaport, Frank Vincent, John Ventimiglia, Anna Leon, and the rest, give a lot to make this a fine movie, with an ironic twist, a great way to spend time watching it.For lovers of the genre, they will not be disappointed if they approach this movie without any expectations. Let Mr. Ransick work his way to you with these diverse low lives characters doing unexpected things.

This entertaining and well-crafted film opens with a ferocious shootout, following a New York City daylight heist, after which only one of the bandits survives, Jack McCallister (Seymour Cassel), who flees with one-half million dollars that he stows in a Coney Island storage facility locker before going to a hiding spot, a dingy apartment, while being sought by police and mobsters, in addition to Jack's sons George (Treat Williams) and Michael (Paul Schulze), all of whom are desirous of locating the secreted loot. Jack is deceived and gunned down, but before his death he separately tells his sons a portion of information that will lead them to the locker, and if they combine this death throe knowledge, the cash will be theirs to share equally, but mutual distrust between the brothers who additionally are being pursued by renegade police and gangsters, leads to an exciting and ironic climax. Acting throughout is top-flight with players being ably directed, and ad libbing is smoothly accomplished by Williams, together with Vincent and others, the former earning acting honours with his terrific turn as an amoral career criminal, while others who impress include Schulze, Cassel, Star Jasper and the unduplicatable Anna Thomson (Levine) as Jack's lady love. Director Whitney Ransick scripts as well, a very neatly composed screenplay, indeed, as he confidently weaves various subplots together, abetted by consistently creative compositions from cinematographer Michael Spiller who, along with composer Douglas J. Cuomo, strongly benefit a film that avoids hackneyed formulae that plague its genre of crime themed works, thanks to the solid contributions from all involved, including those charged with post-production finishing.

I'm not sure why this movie was called Hand Gun. There are a lot of guns in the movie but the title is to generic. The movie itself is mostly forgettable and none are the characters are very sympathetic. It does have a surprising sense of humor. It is subtle but it is there.

I expected a good-guys versus mafia types, and kinda got it. After about 5 minutes, I thought the dialog was stupid, and the characters unbelievable. After another 5 minutes, I realized that it actually was a comedy, very subtle and understated.I would have given it a higher grade if I had known that sooner. Whose fault was that? They have to take some of the blame.