Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Alicia Silverstone as Sheila Rilo
Rachael Leigh Cook as Shmally
Woody Harrelson as Jason ‘Woods’ Valley
John Cleese as Charles Merchant
Paulo Costanzo as Stuart ‘Stu’ Stein
David Krumholtz as Max
Joshua Leonard as Rick Becker
Ivan Sergei as Mark
Wayne Morse as Guy
Jeffrey Tambor as Employer
Max Wein as Loomis
Marcus Thomas as Carter Doleman
Special Features:
None
Other Info:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
Full Screen (1.33:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Running Time: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
Synopsis:
One weekend, three disgruntled employees of a bank all decide to separately rob it. None of them is aware of the other’s plans.
Sheila Rilo has been dumped by her boyfriend Rick Becker. Unfortunately, he’s also manager of the bank. Sheila believes that if she steals money from the ATMs, Rick will be fired from his job and she will have her revenge.
Stuart ‘Stu’ Stein is a practical, reliable guy who never takes risks. However, he fantasizes about how he could borrow $250,000 from the bank over the weekend and double his money in Las Vegas at roulette. Prompted by his reckless friend Max, Stu finally takes chance and swipes the money. But is he willing to pay for the consequences?
Finally, eccentric nature lover Jason ‘Woods’ Valley is tired of the corporate bureaucracy. He hatches a plan to steal money from the safe deposit box of get-rich-quick scam artist Charles Merchant. Woods witnessed Merchant shoot a duck once, now he wants revenge for the duck. The only trick is that he must get the safe deposit box key out of the collar of Merchant’s nasty little dog.
Meanwhile, slacker Carter Doleman finally decides to shape up his life and get a job thanks to the help of his Dungeons & Dragons loving friend Shmally. Just as he starts, though, the bank is robbed. With his job prospects gone, will he stay on the straight and narrow or go back to his loser lifestyle?
Scorched is rated PG-13 for language.
The Movie:
Scorched is a funny little comedy that came out of nowhere and surprised me. While it’s by no means a perfect film, it does have a number of fun moments that make it memorable and worth checking out.
Movies with large ensemble casts are usually hard to do, but the creators of Scorched managed to pull it off and give each of their actors a shining moment. This goes for both the well known actors and the not so well known ones. For example, we get to see Rachael Leigh Cook dress up in a warrior princess outfit and kick butt in fantasy sequences that are pretty bizarre and funny. We also see Woody Harrelson jump back into physical comedy when he is bit by a lizard, wrestles a duck, and is chased by a nasty little dog. Joshua Leonard (of Blair Witch fame) is also amusing as the slimy, egotistical bank manager Rick Becker.
However, the real highlight of the movie for me was John Cleese as Charles Merchant. He gets to really cut loose in this role, something I haven’t seen him do in quite a while. He pokes fun at those guys in infomercials in superb form (complete with rehearsed hand gestures). Cleese also kills a duck in a most bizarre fashion and tells off a Girl Scout selling cookies with devilish glee. If you’re a fan of John Cleese, you’ll want to see him in this role.
The movie is pretty quickly paced and is filled with funny moments. All of the storylines are intricately woven together and come together in the end for a fun finish. Also, the music in the film stood out to me. It was a nice upbeat rock sound that caught my ear.
The Extras:
There are no extras included on this DVD, but both widescreen and fullscreen versions are included.
The Bottom Line:
Scorched is a funny comedy well worth checking out at least as a renter. John Cleese fans should also make a point of seeing it.
