Kuffs (1992)

This is a pretty average action type of movie. It came and went with a whimper and nobody really seemed to notice it. I remember seeing this movie before, and even though I did not get put off by it, it didn't stand out. Now it seems to appear on TV every so often late at night.The creators have used a bit of creative license by creating an enterprise where there is a private police force, Special Patrol, in San-Fransisco helping out the real police force. They are really little more than security guards with a few extra powers.The movie is about a kid named George Kuffs (Christian Slater) who leaves his girlfriend when he learns that she is pregnant. He goes to his brother, who runs one of the Special Patrol districts, for some money, but he is killed by a gangster. In his will George receives the district and goes gunning for the gangster, while being hindered by the police force who really don't want him there. There is also poor old Ted who just seems to always on the wrong side of bad luck.Anyway, this movie is really about how George Kuffs goes from being a free and easy drifter to an adult with responsibilities. The change happens when his brother is killed, because he suddenly finds himself without somebody to lean on. His brother had been trying to give him direction, but it wasn't until he died that his efforts began to come to fruition.Also, even though Kuffs left is girlfriend, he still had his brother. Life was easy because he could have what he wanted and the one stable thing in his life was his brother. Then when he died, Kuffs discovered that the one stable thing in his life was no longer stable, so he attempted to reach out for his girlfriend. Of course she wasn't there for him, and even then he didn't really want to face her after dumping her the way he did.The interesting thing about this movie is that Kuffs is our narrator, but unfortunately it isn't well crafted enough to allow us to look deeply into Kuff's psyche. I guess it is not meant to be as such, because when it comes down to it, George Kuffs is a shallow character in a shallow movie.

This film has decent camp value, which is actually helped by the passage of time, because it is now even more evident how ridiculous early-90s fashion was. Hence, the villain with the T-shirt of his own picture (which was actually a fad back then) is even more hilarious. Also, Evans took chances with creative camera shots and sound, and they paid off. This movie simultaneously pays homage to, and makes fun of, movies like Beverly Hills Cop...although Slater is not as funny or personable as Eddie Murphy. Jovovich, on the other hand, came across as very sweet and endearing, and looked very pretty...I wish she got more screen time. Hard to believe that was 20 years ago; she's aged well!You should focus on the film's irony to really appreciate its value. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither should you. However, in the end, there were too many mediocre and unfunny (even in an ironic way) lines and moments to justify recommending that you spend time watching this movie. If you do get dragged into watching it, however, you probably won't hate it. It's just...okay.For more reviews and a kickass podcast, check out www.livemancave.com

George Kuffs didn't finish high-school, just lost his job and his girlfriend who still is in college is pregnant.Since he can't see how he can support her, he thinks she is better off without him.So he visits his elder brother, Brad, to squeeze him for a loan so he can go to Brazil where there's a gold-rush going on.Unfortunately Brad is killed and George is suddenly the owner of Brad's "patrol special" district....Depending on how much you can tolerate Christian Slater, is how much you will enjoy this film. I went to see this at the movies, and even then when I were 14, there were points i wish i could have broken the fourth wall and slapped him.The mugging at the camera is an okay idea, and many of the demographic that this film is aimed at, would have found it fresh and quite endearing, as an actor was involving them in the movie and the plot.But thats my only gripe because the film is witty and part from the story, it's quite an original movie, with a good script. Slater is good as the titular characters, but like I said before, if you were not aged between the ages 13-18 in 1992, will find this film hard to like.Original parts of the movie are having profanity beeped, so the killer line will be funnier, having the bad guys clothing become a character in itself, and a running gag involving turkey cooking.Kuffs even has hi own 'Axel F' music.It's early nineties cheese and the type of movie you should watch with rose coloured specs, because watching the film nearly twenty years later, George Kuffs isn't the cool guy I once thought he was.Still a funny film though.

Kuffs is a young moron(with *attitude*!) who wants a lot of money without doing anything for it. His brother dies, leaving the district to him, and the killer goes free because of red tape. How can he run it? He has no skills or experience. Well, I'm gonna have to get back to you on that, because this doesn't answer that. Does he try to get revenge for his sibling? Of course. How leader-like. Slater's dubious charm is put to the test and fails, and the painful asides exist for little other reason than to deliver exposition. There's plenty of backstory and details, and hardly any of it is on the screen... it's said in dialog. Instead, we get lousy attempts at comedy(usually silly to the point of being cartoonish... it's hardly ever funny, and the running gags literally physically hurt) and... occasional melodrama. The whole thing is scored by Harold Faltermeyer, and yes, he was indeed still doing the Eddie Murphy style 80's tunes. This does the buddy cop thing a little, awkwardly. All the characters are quirky. Who thought this weird mix of things that can work separately would work? All of what I've described can be good if you pursue one. This skips back and forth between them all. The 97 minutes sans credits pass extremely slowly. You never get into it. You're given no reason to like anyone in this(what's with Ted? Did they think that they'd cast the supercop dude from the Police Academy flicks?), except for Jovovich(beautiful and cute as usual... even if she wasn't legal yet), and she's barely in it(and no, my dislike of this isn't on account of that). The setups do not make sense, they're just there for sit-com scenarios that don't pay off. Why can't George aim when it counts? We get some OK action, all shootouts. The tension is lacking and the choreography is lazy. And you do not give someone dual Berettas in a film and not have them use them way more. The clichés are plentiful. One portion has a lot of bizarrely bleeped out F-bombs(using "notes" on a keyboard and other random noises, taking you completely out of the fiction)... it's as if they suddenly realized they should go for PG-13 instead of R, and made the bad decision to censor it like that. It's also half-heartedly photographed. The DVD comes with a meh 2 minute theatrical trailer, and the suggesting of watching Dazed and Confused(maybe that's so, haven't seen it) and Sneakers(...no. Just no. It's so much more entertaining than this that you can barely imagine it) if you like this. I recommend this to girls who want to fawn over Christian. Everyone else, you can do far better. 5/10