Thanks for the memories!

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Struggling junk store owner Don (superbly played by Dennis Franz) suspects that a customer purchased a rare nickel from him for a minute sum when it was actually worth ten times in value. In order to rectify this wrong, Don plots with weaselly lowlife would-be thief Teach (a bravura performance by Dustin Hoffman) to break into the customer's house so Don can get his coin back.Michael Corrente's no-frills direction wisely eschews flashy cinematic pyrotechnics in order to place a key emphasis on the well drawn and astutely observed main characters. David Mamet's compact and incisive script, adapted from his play, not only offers a fascinating and provocative dissertation on ethics, friendship, loyalty, and betrayal, but also paints a bleakly compelling portrait of two hopeless small-time losers who are fatally undermined by their own pathetic intrinsic fallibility. Franz and Hoffman act off each other exceptionally well while Sean Nelson more than holds his own as Don's eager young protégé Bobby, who isn't nearly as naive as he seems to be. Richard Crudo's sharp cinematography wrings plenty of claustrophobic tension from the cramped primary location. Kudos are also in order for Thomas Newman's spare bluesy score. Granted, there's virtually nothing in the way of action, but the poetically profane rat-a-tat-tat dialogue and spot-on stinging insights on the cruel manner too much talk can betray people by revealing their shortcomings more than compensates for this.

"American Buffalo" is definitely not a movie for everyone. A downer in every sense, it portrays three pitiful characters with nowhere to go in life. I guess that overall, there's little to be said about the movie. It's little more than a way to pass time. The whole thing has the distinct feel of a play (it all happens pretty much in one room), but Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz and Sean Nelson have little to do here. Still, it might make you ponder your own direction in life.I have to wonder about that coin featuring the buffalo. When you think about it, that coin went the way of the buffalo. Maybe I'm the only person who notices that.

They play two complete dirt bag scummy guys… who truly believe themselves to be criminal masterminds. Dustin Hoffman is totally convincing as a greasy know it all 'brains' of the operation as they plan to steal back a valuable Buffalo Nickel that was snagged by a customer at Denise Franz's hole in the wall second hand junk store. Most of the film is the interaction between the two main characters debating philosophy, ideology, while tripping over their own lack of intelligence and trying to hide the simple fact that… they are both totally incompetent idiots. Their arguments are thoroughly entertaining as they plan the big heist… will they, can they pull it off… just watch.

In a way this is almost like a pornmovie, but instead of sex you have talk. The movie is a 90 minute long filmed conversation. But to me the movie is more entertaining than many actionmovies. It's definitely not for all viewers hence the bad overall ratings, but I can still recommend it. The acting is over the top. Hoffman and Franz is a very funny combination. Seldom have I seen someone make so much out of so little. As oppose to other movies the climax isn't in the ending, every scene is equally important. Not as good as Glengarry glen ross though. GGR was both a character study and a good movie. This is "just" an excellent character study, but with these actors it's enough to make it worth watching.