Incannerax
What a waste of my time!!!
Aedonerre
I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.
ChanFamous
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.
Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Jesse Boland
Now my first thought in watching this movie was that it was quite an accomplishment that they were able to get Crispin Glover, and Andy Dick to perform, and provide coherent performances. Beyond that you have quite the jumbled mess here that gives you the time run around for the first third of so, then just seems to suddenly converges into one story that all the players are together in. If my words are a mess in your face, then you are starting to feel a lot of how you will feel watching this movie. Crispin Glover just plays himself by the fell of it, and only once does he even remotely seem to have a grasp on reality. Or he is a great actor. Cristian Slater is his usual self, and sadly we all know that that means the poor man's Jack Nicholson, still playing the same roll that he has played for 30 years now. Or he is a great actor. The one great surprise for me was Billy Burke, and his attempt at trying to seem like a Clint Eastwood gritty cop. Michael Jai White was fantastic as Donnell, he is the glue that binds the rest of the characters together. This would be as good a movie as something like Pulp Fiction, or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, if the dialog were less contemporary, or at least more contemporary to that time. Sure it would have made writing the jokes more challenging, but then they would have been better right? Enjoy anyway.
Tad Pole
. . . one expects a little more than FREAKY DEAKY delivers. Apparently this was exhibited theatrically somewhere for at least 15 minutes, but it plays like a second-rate made-for-cable-TV flick. Since it does not have any nudity, Showtime and Cinemax definitely did not underwrite FREAKY DEAKY's bills. If there is a Speed Junior channel available somewhere (or better yet, a Jackass Channel aimed at the Amish market), FREAKY DEAKY would be a good fit, since the producers idea of fun is to blow up everyone but the bomb squad cop with explosions spaced about 15 minutes apart. Nothing too graphic, since FREAKY DEAKY (unlike, say, PULP FICTION) is film that pulls all of its punches. The characterizations are thin and unbelievable, and the actors do not look like they're having much fun--two things one would NOT say about PULP FICTION. According to recent comments from the mayor of Boston, Detroit should not have a bomb squad, anyway (in FREAKY DEAKY, Billy Burke plays Motor City demolitions Defuser Sgt. Chris Mankowski). Bean Town's boss says the first thing he would do in the Mitten State is blow up its biggest city.
giallopudding
I wanted to like this film. I love Elmore Leonard novels, and loved Get Shorty, 52 Pickup, Get Straight and Jackie Brown (Rum Punch). In the hands of a master like Tarantino, Elmore Leonard's complex and fast-paced plots, with numerous characters throwing witty street banter around, really shine.Unfortunately, Charles Mattheau isn't up to the task, and characters are miscast, pacing is awful, even the score is wrong in so many places. This film often comes off as a bad TV tongue-in-cheek crime show, complete with dramatic musical flourishes when the camera zooms in on the sexy legs of actresses Sabina Gadeki and Breanne Racano. (Their legs and other beautiful body parts are the best things about these mediocre actresses, in my opinion). The explosion scenes are evidence of a severe shortage in the sfx budget as well as the actor budget.Even the usually outstanding Crispin Glover as the spacey drunken rich guy Woody Ricks is tepid, either overacting scenes or underacting them. Everything seems out of sync in this film.Perhaps I'm holding it up to too high of a standard with the aforementioned Leonard film adaptations. But it is what it is...and cool 70's sets and apparel (the novel was set in the 60s), witty Leonard dialog and clever plot apparently weren't enough for director Mattheau to pull this off. I have to believe Elmore Leonard is supremely disappointed in this effort, since as I recall he labeled this his favorite novel. One can only hope that someday a director like Tarantino remakes this film the right way, and captures the crazy 60's vibe from the novel.
rgblakey
Writer Elmore Leonard has delivered some interesting characters over the years, but up until now it was really only Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and Barry Sonnenfield's Get Shorty that really successfully brought them to life. The latest attempt to bring another Leonard novel to life comes in the form of Freaky Deaky featuring a great cast including Christian Slater, Crispin Glover, Billy Burke, Michael Jai White, Bill Duke and Andy Dick, but does it deliver the strange and unique qualities needed to bring his characters and world to life? Freaky Deaky follows an ex-bomb squad officer who is thrust into an investigation filled with rape, revenge, and explosives during circa 1974. At first this film feels like its going to be a complete mess, but then something happens and it sucks you right into this ridiculous world. This is mostly due to the creative and interesting characters that populate this 1970's universe. As the story moves forward each character is seemingly given their own time to shine to help bring this quirky dark comedy to life. The story is a bit all over the place, but works fairly well to due to these quirky strange characters and the bizarre story they are thrust into.This is far from a perfect movie and there are some moments that just seem out of place or forced, but for the most part it works pretty well. If you are a fan of any of the other Leonard films then you will most likely enjoy this one as well as it comes across s thought it's the same universe. If nothing else, the strange relationship between Michael Jai White and Crispin Glover's characters is worth this whole move.