Safe Men (September 18/06)

With a cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, and Paul Giamatti, Safe Men has the unmistakable feel of a late '90s quirky independent comedy - a vibe that's cemented by writer/director John Hamburg's distinctly off-kilter sensibility. And although the movie is initially awfully aimless and silly, it's difficult not to ultimately be won over by the uniformly superb performances and Hamburg's emphasis on thoroughly strange bits of comedy.

Rockwell and Zahn star as Sam and Eddie, a pair of inept singers who are forced to pull off a series of robberies after being mistaken for a notoriously efficient safe-cracking team (played by Mark Ruffalo and Josh Pais). Sam and Eddie must also contend with a Jewish mob boss (Michael Lerner) and his bumbling right-hand man (Giamatti), a quirky fence (Harvey Fierstein) and his beautiful daughter (Christina Kirk), and a diminutive but deadly assassin (Peter Dinklage).

At its outset, Safe Men plays like virtually every other indie comedy that's come down the pike in recent years - as Hamburg eschews anything even resembling authenticity in favor of a far more odd and flat-out absurd sort of quality. There is consequently no denying that the movie takes an awfully long time to get going, and it's not until almost the halfway point that the viewer is finally able to look past some of the film's more outwardly bizarre moments (ie a discussion regarding the merits of raccoons versus pigs).

If not for the distinctly entertaining performances - Giamatti and Ruffalo, in particular, are immensely engaging here - there's little doubt that Safe Men wouldn't fare nearly as well as it ultimately does. The palpable chemistry between Rockwell and Zahn certainly goes a long way towards keeping things interesting, and one can't help but be drawn into the amiable atmosphere proffered by filmmaker Hamburg.