well, where to begin? shotgun is a very low budget buddy film, the value of which will be immediately obvious to anyone with a taste for Hollywood dreck.
there's a lot of gratuitous violence in the movie, basically various prostitutes getting beaten by a lawyer/drug lord in a leather suit. additionally, there's the usual shoot-em-up cop violence familiar to the genre.
shotgun expects the viewer to take the script at face value. for example, shotgun expects the viewer to experience all the violence in the movie as tragedy. for several reasons this just doesn't happen. one reason is that the acting is non-existent, the whole thing was only shot in 3 days. furthermore, the script is caught, happily for us, between its originality and the limits of its genre.
shotgun wants us to to get our kicks seeing someone in Hollywood pick up a prostitute. however its actually not a prostitute, its some girl hamming it up in a 13-year-old's concept of a prostitute as gleaned from TV. and its not a john, its some boring guy barely playing a john. the transparency of the clichés and acting, such as it is, relieves the viewer of the mental challenge of apprehending any subtlety, much to the relief of IMDb reviewers of all tastes.
then shotgun wants you to think they're going to a cheap hotel to do the deed. but the guy at the desk triggers a mild altercation as to whether the john is going to buy a condom. so watching shotgun at this point, you're thinking: lurid Miami Vice moment, feeble attempt at realism. maybe. thats what i was thinking, anyway.
then, in the confusing scene, having brought the prostitute to the hotel room, the john leaves and the drug-lord/lawyer comes in, dressed in full s+m regale. everyone who sees shotgun for the first time assumes incorrectly that its the john coming back in. the scene is very reminiscent of an edward hopper painting, actually. pretty artistic.
so the prostitute says, trying not very hard to be sultry/sleazy: "do you want hips (rubbing her hips) or lips (licks her lips)?" even though its obviously a set shot, its still pretty disgusting right here.
who could take this seriously? no one.
the lawyer says, "i think lips," and punches her in the mouth (get it?). there is a wailing guitar solo to accompany the rest of the beating. the guitar is pretty much the last nail in the coffin, ensuring that this movie will never return from the pits of self-mockery.
so the john leaves the hotel, in the scene's coda, and gives the condom back to the desk and tells him, "i told you i didn't need the rubber." ba-dum ksh.
shotgun is basically a few repetitions of this scene, interspersed with plot lines and banter which ape other buddy films. the ending is also spectacular and not to be missed, though few who get 10 minutes into the movie and decide to keep watching will need any encouragement.
i would like to say more about how funny the dialog and performances are in shotgun.
this is one of the most entertaining movies i have ever seen and i seriously recommend it to anyone who has the stomach for the strongest variety of satire: unintentional.
there's a lot of gratuitous violence in the movie, basically various prostitutes getting beaten by a lawyer/drug lord in a leather suit. additionally, there's the usual shoot-em-up cop violence familiar to the genre.
shotgun expects the viewer to take the script at face value. for example, shotgun expects the viewer to experience all the violence in the movie as tragedy. for several reasons this just doesn't happen. one reason is that the acting is non-existent, the whole thing was only shot in 3 days. furthermore, the script is caught, happily for us, between its originality and the limits of its genre.
shotgun wants us to to get our kicks seeing someone in Hollywood pick up a prostitute. however its actually not a prostitute, its some girl hamming it up in a 13-year-old's concept of a prostitute as gleaned from TV. and its not a john, its some boring guy barely playing a john. the transparency of the clichés and acting, such as it is, relieves the viewer of the mental challenge of apprehending any subtlety, much to the relief of IMDb reviewers of all tastes.
then shotgun wants you to think they're going to a cheap hotel to do the deed. but the guy at the desk triggers a mild altercation as to whether the john is going to buy a condom. so watching shotgun at this point, you're thinking: lurid Miami Vice moment, feeble attempt at realism. maybe. thats what i was thinking, anyway.
then, in the confusing scene, having brought the prostitute to the hotel room, the john leaves and the drug-lord/lawyer comes in, dressed in full s+m regale. everyone who sees shotgun for the first time assumes incorrectly that its the john coming back in. the scene is very reminiscent of an edward hopper painting, actually. pretty artistic.
so the prostitute says, trying not very hard to be sultry/sleazy: "do you want hips (rubbing her hips) or lips (licks her lips)?" even though its obviously a set shot, its still pretty disgusting right here.
who could take this seriously? no one.
the lawyer says, "i think lips," and punches her in the mouth (get it?). there is a wailing guitar solo to accompany the rest of the beating. the guitar is pretty much the last nail in the coffin, ensuring that this movie will never return from the pits of self-mockery.
so the john leaves the hotel, in the scene's coda, and gives the condom back to the desk and tells him, "i told you i didn't need the rubber." ba-dum ksh.
shotgun is basically a few repetitions of this scene, interspersed with plot lines and banter which ape other buddy films. the ending is also spectacular and not to be missed, though few who get 10 minutes into the movie and decide to keep watching will need any encouragement.
i would like to say more about how funny the dialog and performances are in shotgun.
this is one of the most entertaining movies i have ever seen and i seriously recommend it to anyone who has the stomach for the strongest variety of satire: unintentional.