CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 06/30/06

Not Ready for Sainthood

by scott castle

More renowned for the rise and fall of its writer/director than it is for its own uneven merits, The Boondock Saints established itself as a cult film on DVD. Fox's new unrated special edition makes a shallow excursion into the world of the flick's self-destructive auteur, Troy Duffy, but does a decent job of representing the film itself.

The Boondock Saints
(Unrated Special Edition)

Troy Duffy (also director)

Irish immigrant brothers Connor (Sean Patrick Flannery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) MacManus adopt the belief that the worst kind of evil is the apathy of a good man. After a rumble with the Russian mafia in a local pub, the MacManus brothers find themselves at the top of the mob's hit list. The two brothers and their hapless Italian pal David Della Rocco (as himself) elude assassination attempts while taking vigilante action against their persecutors. Meanwhile, FBI organized crime agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) tries to understand the brothers' work and develops an appreciation for his quarry's efforts as Russian and Italian wiseguys pile up in pools of blood. Though the brothers form the heart of an engaging pitch, their self- imposed mission is subsumed by the infamous writer's ego in order to illustrate his self-proclaimed "genius" with story.

The Boondock Saints is filled with clever ideas and memorable moments, but the execution of the story is, like its creator, a study in ups and downs. The premise -- two vigilantes wreaking justice on a corrupt crime syndicate while a sympathetic lawman looks on -- is a worthy starting point that likely afforded writer/director Troy Duffy with the meeting in Harvey Weinstein's office that led to the film's initial green light. As chronicled in the documentary Overnight, Duffy had the doors to Hollywood opened to him with a red carpet welcome. The filmmaker then proceeded to squander his blessings with poor behavior and unbridled hostility.

Duffy, enamored with the films of Quentin Tarantino, crams his script with witty asides and quirky characters, none of whom (with the exception of Defoe's FBI agent) attain either wit or quirk. Instead, the film plays like an exercise in the director explaining how much cleverer he is than his audience. Though relevant to the story, etymological discourse on the phrase "rule of thumb" and other such trivial ephemera litter the script alongside pop culture references that fail to work on anything more than the surface level. It's clear that Duffy has things to say, and the film's theme, expressed by a priest in the opening moments, is well represented throughout the piece, but the filmmaker lacks the finesse with which to convey his ideas to the screen. The logic of two slaughterhouse workers from a disenfranchised immigrant background who happen to both be fluent in Irish Gaelic, Russian, Italian, German, French, Latin, and Spanish seems a bit over the top even for a film with these overblown sensibilities, and one can't help but believe that Duffy sees in his protagonists the same smug self-satisfaction that led him and his film into turnaround at Miramax.

- Commentary by writer/director Troy Duffy
- Commentary by actor Billy Connolly
- Outtakes
- Deleted scenes
- Printable script
- Theatrical trailers

Writer/director Duffy's commentary is an engaging if uninformative affair that belies the speaker's reputation with a genial tone. Deleted scenes hint abandoned plot lines and characters, while the value of offering a film's screenplay can never be underestimated (hardcore fans can buy an autographed copy of the script on Duffy's site). Sadly but not surprisingly, the splendid documentary Overnight, detailing Duffy's "riches to rags" story and his abusive behavior during the film's creation, is nowhere to be seen.

With its place in movie history secured by its creator, if not on its own merit, The Boondock Saints remains a passable action outing with some worthy thoughts behind it, if not executed with elegance within it.

The Boondock Saints (Unrated Special Edition)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Unrated; 108 min.
$26.98

Buy it now

Scott Castle is one thesis shy of a master's degree in film. He's written two short films, four television scripts, and a handful of short stories. He lives in Los Angeles.

The Boondock Saints (Unrated Special Edition) courtesy 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

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