MAD DOG AND GLORY is a hilarious take on a bizarre love triangle between three vastly contrasting individuals. Robert De Niro stars as Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie, a cop who wants desperately to be an artist. After interrupting a holdup and saving the life of mobster Frank Milo (Bill Murray), his life takes a dramatic turn. Milo, a gangster with the desire (if not the talent) to become a stand-up comic, rewards Wayne by lending him his girlfriend, Glory (Uma Thurman), for one week, a week in which Mad Dog, initially repulsed by the idea of Milo's gift, gradually begins to fall in love with Glory.The amusing running theme of characters wishing to be something they're not is bolstered throughout by strong stereotype-shattering performances by the two male leads. The ironic casting of longtime goofball Murray as a gangster and De Niro (fresh off his prototypical 1991 role as a vengeful ex-convict in CAPE FEAR) as a timid cop is both thought-provoking and hilarious. Director John McNaughton, known for the inimitable mixture of gory violence and grim humor in films such as HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and THE BORROWER, also plays against type, using a lighter touch in MAD DOG AND GLORY to great effect. The result is a jubilant, cockeyed romp that grapples with the ancient riddles of fate and destiny. |
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