15 MINUTES: More Slick Than Subtle

15 MINUTES (Blu-ray)

2001 / 121 min

From Warner Bros

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

Two things keep 15 Minutes from being the movie it obviously aspires to be.

First, there’s no shortage of movies that (satirically or otherwise) offer criticism of ratings-driven media, as well as people’s obsession with fame. Not only does 15 Minutes add nothing new to the discussion, it delivers its message with the subtlety of a mallet. 

One only needs to look at the film’s main antagonists. As the host of the tabloid show, “Top Story,” Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer) is so outlandishly ruthless in his quest for ratings that he makes Network’s Diana Christensen look like Edward R. Murrow (and if you don’t know who Diana Christensen is, you need to see more movies). Then there’s the two sweaty, screaming Russians who arrive in America for fame and fortune, finding it when they decide to videotape their killing spree with plans to sell the tape (and their story) once they’re caught. They’re so reckless and brash while tearing through New York that plausibility soon flies out the window.

"Jealous?"

Second is the teaming of Robert De Niro as celebrity cop Eddie Flemming and Edward Burns as fire marshall Jordan Warsaw. Whether method-acting or scenery chewing, De Niro is almost always such a strong screen presence that someone with Burns’ comparatively meager thespian skills simply can’t keep up. But in Burns’ defense, his character is so unimaginatively conceived that the best writer-director John Herzfeld could do to spice things up was shoehorn a superfluous love interest into the plot (Vera Farmiga as a murder witness). And unfortunately, De Niro’s character is gone much sooner than his billing suggests, leaving Burns to carry the thing to the finish.

On the plus side, 15 Minutes is fast paced, and admittedly, some of its histrionic attempts at social commentary are occasionally amusing. Credibility is often stretched to the breaking point - especially at the climax - but at least the movie keeps things pretty lively. Ultimately, it works better as a big dumb action film than anything thought provoking.

This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray edition first released in 2015.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Does Crime Pay? is a round table discussion about famous cases where criminals profited from their crimes (yes, that's Mark Fuhrman sitting in); True Tabloid Stars is a brief history of sensational “news” programs, featuring some famous hosts (a few of whom sort of try to defend their chosen profession).

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By writer-director John Herzfeld.

6 DELETED SCENES - With optional commentary.

OLEG’S VIDEOS - Unedited versions of two murder scenes.

REHEARSAL SCENES

MUSIC VIDEO - Cover of David Bowie’s “Fame,” by God Lives Underwater.

TRAILER