Nice effects though.

Expected more

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Well, this movie was poorly made. It really was, which is probably why we didn't see it anywhere and I had to actively track it down.But, a big part of it is likely the budget. It stinks of low budget and you can't really make an ultra low budget period flick and have actually turn out well.But, 7 of 10 stars because it is unique. The story is original, and that is probably why it had such a low budget feel to it, but that doesn't really matter at all.You still have an Elmore Leonard movie, which means you still have characters you haven't really encountered in stories before and a plot that you haven't really seen before all in a genre--crime--that is over done and paint-by-numbers.So, watch it, if nothing more than you are getting a real story, a fresh story, an Elmore Leonard story and he is always worth it...because without him you get more of the same old crap on repeat.It's a story you probably haven't encountered before and that is always worth a watching.

Now my first thought in watching this movie was that it was quite an accomplishment that they were able to get Crispin Glover, and Andy Dick to perform, and provide coherent performances. Beyond that you have quite the jumbled mess here that gives you the time run around for the first third of so, then just seems to suddenly converges into one story that all the players are together in. If my words are a mess in your face, then you are starting to feel a lot of how you will feel watching this movie. Crispin Glover just plays himself by the fell of it, and only once does he even remotely seem to have a grasp on reality. Or he is a great actor. Cristian Slater is his usual self, and sadly we all know that that means the poor man's Jack Nicholson, still playing the same roll that he has played for 30 years now. Or he is a great actor. The one great surprise for me was Billy Burke, and his attempt at trying to seem like a Clint Eastwood gritty cop. Michael Jai White was fantastic as Donnell, he is the glue that binds the rest of the characters together. This would be as good a movie as something like Pulp Fiction, or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, if the dialog were less contemporary, or at least more contemporary to that time. Sure it would have made writing the jokes more challenging, but then they would have been better right? Enjoy anyway.

I once again must ask who I must speak to to get my latest wild imaginings put on film as this is a sure sign that they will make just about any piece of garbage into a film. Elmore Leonard (RIP) has some great works out there and some of the film adaptations of his work have been fine films. Unfortunately Freaky Deaky by Charles Matthau is not to be listed among that group. Christian Slater is a fine actor and brings something great to each role he plays as well as does Crispin Glover, who is the poster boy for edgy character. The biggest mistake the producers made in this film was casting Beanne Racano in a role. She brings new meaning to the term "wooden delivery". Wow, what a stick she is. This women should never be allowed near a script again.If she didn't look like she does and had to audition for the role based on talent, well...... I could not finish watching this film.

I wanted to like this film. I love Elmore Leonard novels, and loved Get Shorty, 52 Pickup, Get Straight and Jackie Brown (Rum Punch). In the hands of a master like Tarantino, Elmore Leonard's complex and fast-paced plots, with numerous characters throwing witty street banter around, really shine.Unfortunately, Charles Mattheau isn't up to the task, and characters are miscast, pacing is awful, even the score is wrong in so many places. This film often comes off as a bad TV tongue-in-cheek crime show, complete with dramatic musical flourishes when the camera zooms in on the sexy legs of actresses Sabina Gadeki and Breanne Racano. (Their legs and other beautiful body parts are the best things about these mediocre actresses, in my opinion). The explosion scenes are evidence of a severe shortage in the sfx budget as well as the actor budget.Even the usually outstanding Crispin Glover as the spacey drunken rich guy Woody Ricks is tepid, either overacting scenes or underacting them. Everything seems out of sync in this film.Perhaps I'm holding it up to too high of a standard with the aforementioned Leonard film adaptations. But it is what it is...and cool 70's sets and apparel (the novel was set in the 60s), witty Leonard dialog and clever plot apparently weren't enough for director Mattheau to pull this off. I have to believe Elmore Leonard is supremely disappointed in this effort, since as I recall he labeled this his favorite novel. One can only hope that someday a director like Tarantino remakes this film the right way, and captures the crazy 60's vibe from the novel.