seymourblack-1
Within the space of a couple of days, the lives of a disparate bunch of characters collide in circumstances that are so bizarre and unpredictable that it's impossible not to be drawn into the rather convoluted plot of "2 Days In The Valley". This is a crime movie which features an unusual mixture of violence, romance and comedy as well as a large number of characters who are all eccentric, dangerous or troubled in various ways and it's these characters that make this film so compelling and entertaining to watch.Lee Woods (James Spader) and Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello) are the professional hit men who break into the home of sleeping Olympic skier, Becky Foxx (Teri Hatcher) and after giving her an injection that knocks her out, kill her unfaithful husband Roy (Peter Horton) who was lying in bed next to her. After making their escape, Lee shoots Dosmo and leaves him in a burning car so that the money they're due to be paid won't have to be split two ways.Unknown to Lee, Dosmo (who was wearing a bulletproof vest) survives and takes shelter at the nearby home of wealthy art dealer Allan Hopper (Greg Cruttwell) whose Kidney stones are causing him great pain. Initially, Dosmo holds Hopper and his assistant Susan Parish (Glenne Headly) at gunpoint and later, when Hopper's sister Audrey (Marsha Mason) arrives with a guy called Teddy Peppers (Paul Mazursky), they're also taken hostage.When Becky regains consciousness, she's covered in blood and horrified to find her estranged husband's dead body. In sheer panic she runs out into the road and asks the occupants of a nearby car for help. The two men in the car turn out to be vice cops who get drawn into the subsequent murder investigation, as well as two other homicide detectives who are officially assigned to the case. Lee returns to the scene of the crime to collect his money and this puts the lives of all the police officers in extreme danger. Not too surprisingly, the movie comes to its very violent conclusion when most of the surviving characters eventually meet up.The circumstances that Dosmo and Teddy found themselves in were similar as they were both older men who were seriously down-on-their-luck. Dosmo was a washed-up hit man who was only hired by Lee because he wanted to set him up as a fall-guy and Teddy, after many years as a TV director had seen his career degenerate to such a low point that he'd become suicidal. Against all the odds, in this story, both men found the promise of something better for their futures when they met Susan and Audrey. Aiello and Mazursky both do a great job in conveying their characters' humanity and despair.James Spader provides the movie's standout performance as the sadistic Lee who even uses a stopwatch as an instrument to inflict further pain and anguish on his helpless victims and Charlize Theron makes a strong impression as his equally evil girlfriend, Helga. Eric Stolz and Jeff Daniels add considerable colour to the proceedings as the two vice cops with very different attitudes to their jobs and Teri Hatcher is convincing as the treacherous Becky."2 Days In The Valley" was given mixed reviews when it was first released as many reviewers understandably compared it unfavourably with "Pulp Fiction" which had been released just two years earlier. However, in view of the number of years that have elapsed since the release of Tarantino's masterpiece, maybe it's now more pertinent to judge this movie on its own merits and recognise its positive values a bit more clearly.
davidjanuzbrown
I was answering a question about this film, which got me thinking about it, and I decided to write a review about it. In my opinion, this film is a crime classic, and I cannot believe "2 Days In The Valley" (TDINV) is not better known. If you look at the cast you will understand why. It starts with Lee Woods (James Spader), a super cool robotic hit man, and his partner Helga Svelgen (Charlize Theron), who is an ice cold evil blonde. They are hired to kill the husband of Becky Foxx (Teri Hatcher), so she can be on the US Olympic Team. They are promised $30,000 which is in the house to do so. Assisting them is hit man Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello), who turns against them, when they set him up to be the fall guy. Spoilers ahead: Helga, gets killed by Becky after a nasty cat fight (She had it coming to her). Meanwhile, Dosmo ends up meeting Susan (Glenn Headley), who is constantly abused by her snobbish boss Allen Hopper (Greg Cruttwell), and treated worse than his dog. In my favorite scene, Dosmo discovers Susan is Italian (Something in six years, Greg never learned about her because he took no interest in her as a human being), and he cooks a meal (As he is holding them hostage), and has her sit at the table with him, while he eats on the floor with his dog. Other key characters are washed screenwriter Teddy Peppers (Paul Mazursky) who wanted to commit suicide after he found someone to take care of his dog, Nurse Audrey (Marsha Mason), and Detectives Strayer (Jeff Daniels) and Taylor (Eric Stolz).Spoilers: In the end, Lee ends up shooting Taylor, and Dosmo tries to rescue him, but cannot defeat Lee, and both will be killed, except Teddy shoots Lee dead. That action, enables him to get his confidence back and be able to start over with Audrey (Marsha Mason). One other point, about Peppers, you see in the final scene with Audrey, that he is very different than before, and will not only get a reward from the City for saving Taylor, but since he is in screenwriter, he can tell a story (leaving Dosmo & Susan out of course), that could get him a huge advance. Think about it: A Hollywood writer saves a cop, Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal and all the rest would bid on that. I would figure, that should be worth six figures to him. Dosmo and Susan end up with the $30,000 and will go to New York to open a pizza shop (Taylor lets him have it, because he was willing to take a bullet for him (Essentially the hit man turns good guy because of his conscious)). A key theme of the film is second chances for people who were essentially washed up: Dosmo, Susan, Teddy, Taylor (He would have been dead except for Dosmo & Teddy), Becky (Who gets away with it), and last, but not least, Strayer who is abusive cop, who almost shoots a black guy (Due to his temper) and wants to commit suicide, but because of thinking about his daughter does not (He gets a letter telling him to turn in his Badge, for psychological reasons, but although unhappy, at least he tolerates it, and has a chance to get his act cleaned up (Based on the theme of the film, he does). Basically a crime classic 10/10 stars.
kenjha
Several plot lines involving a multitude of characters eventually come together in this quirky comedy. The cast is awesome, with almost every character played by a familiar face. Despite such a collection of stars, however, the film never really takes off. The main problem is the uneven script that tries to balance too many plot threads and too many characters. Also, although it has its moments, the comedy is not funny enough. Herzfeld, who has mostly worked in TV, is in over his head here on both the writing and directorial fronts. In her first screen credit, Theron is an alluring bad girl and engages in a cat fight with Hatcher!
