Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
In January 2000, I attended an advanced screening of a film called Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. The film's first-time director, an unassuming, humorous chap named Guy Ritchie, attended the screening and did a Q&A with the audience afterward. All I knew about the guy at the time was that he was British and had directed a caper film about a bunch of lowlifes in London's East End. The film's "biggest" claim to fame was its unusually long title and the fact that Sting had a bit role in it.
What a difference a year can make. Guy Ritchie recently made headlines across the world when he wed Madonna. His follow-up to Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, the pointedly short-titled Snatch, stars box-office heavyweight Brad Pitt and critics' darling Benicio del Toro and opened at No. 3 at the box office.
Looking back on Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, it's not hard to see why Ritchie has enjoyed a rapid ascension to the top of the entertainment biz. It's a rollicking joyride of a film that delivers non-stop action, head-spinning plot twists and plenty of laughs.
The movie centers around four young punks who chip in some money so Eddy (Nick Moran), the master card player of the group, can enter a high-stakes card game with Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarity), a local gang boss whose specialties include gambling and porn. Unfortunately for Eddy, he's in way over his head, and ends up owing Harry a cool 500,000 pounds. His penalty if he doesn't come up with the money in a week? Having his fingers cut off one by one by Harry's mammoth enforcer, Barry the Baptist (Lenny McLean).
Eddy and his friends Soap, Tom and Bacon are understandably distraught at this turn of events. As they rack their brains to come up with a plan to scratch together the money, they overhear their neighbors discussing plans to rob a wealthy group of drug dealers. A plan is quickly hatched to ambush the theives and steal the drug money that they stole. And did I mention that a seemingly unrelated pair of antique shotguns manages to work its way into the picture?
Needless to say, when Eddy & Co. put their plan into action, glorious mayhem ensues. The cast, which includes European soccer star Vinnie Jones as Harry's collector Big Chris, is a likeable bunch all around. But the film's real star is director Ritchie, who pulls out all the stops to command our attention, from freeze frames to slo-mo to speed-up and everything in between. A spectacularly filmed drinking scene in which Eddy and the boys celebrate a brief bit of success will likely inspire you and your drinking buddies to attempt a re-enactment. Best of luck.
Naysayers call the plot ridiculous and lament the film's lack of substance. Come to think of it, the police do seem conspicuously absent considering all the gunplay, drug dealing and theivery that's going on. And even diehard fans of Lock will likely admit that it's ultimately a triumph of attitude & style over substance.
In spite of its shortcomings, though, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels feels blisteringly alive from start to finish, a thrilling rollercoaster of a movie that's well worth the price of admission.
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A stupendous drinking scene will no doubt inspire you to follow suit.
Lots of young Brits with cute accents is a plus; guns galore and a noticeable lack of female characters is a bigger minus.
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