Mad Dog and Glory (1993, dir. John McNaughton)

Mad Dog and Glory (1993, dir. John McNaughton)

What Is It?: An off-center romantic comedy-drama about a cop who saves a mobster's life and is rewarded by said mobster "loaning" him a gal for a week. Hilarity/drama ensues.

What About It?: Remember the 90's? Bubba was in power, there was (relatively) no war and every comedy was "off-beat"? Well, this was one of 'em, made before Robert De Niro started whoring himself (that didn't really happen until 1999's Analyze This) and before most people realized that Bill Murray could act (1998's Rushmore). Written by the estimable Richard Price, the film is suffused with a realism that gives it whatever heft it does have. The initial critical reaction was that the casting against type (De Niro is the schlub cop, Murray the mob boss) was stunt casting, but both actors acquit themselves nicely. David Caruso also shines in a small part as De Niro's cop buddy -- it's easy to see why he (and others) thought that he could make it as a lead. He had some spice in this one (his flop, Kiss of Death, also written by Price, is totally worth watching, too).

Why Should I Watch It?: For the numerous small pleasures that the movie affords. The realist touches that Price and McNaughton put on the film are rousing: the first awkward sex that De Niro and Uma Thurman nervously have, the plot shifts that turn on subtly hurt feelings, that the whole enterprise is suffused with a palpable loneliness. An underrated gem.

What Else Is It Like: Sleep With Me, Dogfight, Gun Shy.

When Is It Showing Until ON DEMAND?: 11/23/06

Watch It ON DEMAND on Comcast cable.

-- ddt/pdx

What's New This Tuesday (That's Worth Watching to One Degree or Another)?: Crimson Tide, Stripes, The Magnificent Ambersons, Ghostbusters, An Ideal Husband, The Criminal, The Front Page (1974), The Tree Behind the Church.