Frogs for Snakes

1998 "They collect for the mob. But they'd rather act. Expect killer performances."
4.3| 1h48m| en
Details

A group of unemployed theater actors survive by working as illegal money collectors. The loan shark they are working for owns an Off-Broadway theater. As he decided to play "American Buffalo" there, a bloody battle for the favorite roles begin.

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Reviews

Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away
Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
antcol8 There is almost no reason for me to write. Many of you have done the job for me. But I take the misuse and co-option of a "Downtown" NY vibe in this movie as a personal affront. Amos Poe has some kind of Alt -street cred, although now I can't remember for what. Something to do with Debbie Harry. But he (on the basis of this film) is not an artist, not an entertainer, not a good post-modernist, not very smart! As many have pointed out, he knows how to quote from much better things. And he knows how to cast weirdly iconic actors and use interesting East Village locations. But the killing scenes are excessive, the acting scenes are unconvincing. And neither illuminates the other. Jim Jarmusch, forgive me! Any doubts I have had about your genius have been erased by this slop. I understand now (I already liked it a lot) what a massive achievement Ghost Dog is. You have quoted Godard, but added something to our understanding, as Godard did with such as Fuller and Ray. This guy, on the other hand belongs in the Press area of a European Blondie Reunion concert, holding a Poloroid camera. He totally wasted my time with his smarmy, hipper-than-thou bullshit. Lisa Marie is hot though.
Infofreak Maybe it isn't THE worst but it sure comes close! The concept? A group of wanna-be actors moonlight as collection agents and thugs for a theatre impresario cum gangster. In between shooting people, including each other, they recite scenes from movies, everything from 'The Third Man' to 'Repo Man'. Does that sound stupid? You bet! Watching this until the end is a chore. Only masochists or people with a perverse fascination for truly awful movies will manage it. Writer/director Amos Poe probably argues that "quoting" from other (MUCH better!) movies is some kind of post-modernist statement about art and creativity. Really it's because he doesn't have enough talent to write his own original dialogue and characters. An unspeakably AWFUL movie that everyone involved with should be embarrassed about.
DavidNichols Some movies are like olives or wine; you need to have developed a taste before you can fully enjoy them. The story was unexpected and definitely better the second time around since I was paying attention this time. If you like dark humor you'll love Barbara Hershey and this great cast doing a wonderful job. It is well above par for this genre.
minnow-6 "Frogs for Snakes" **1/2 "FFS" is a hard movie to describe. There is this group of actors in NYC. They work together. They know one another. At various times in their lives they "love" one another. And they compete for the same parts in off-off-off Broadway plays. The owner of the theater, where they most often act and compete for parts, is run by Al. Al is a gangster and he employs these actors to make collections for him. To this point in the description of the movie it sounds like a kind of slice-of-life type story. But, "FFS" slips back and forth between the actors, Al and their day-to-day lives and killing one another. If one of them thinks someone might have a leg up on them for a part in a play, they kill rather than compete. And, after a kill the remaining players might slip right back into a dialogue that makes the killing seem like just another day at the office. Entwined in all the dialogue are these really interesting scenes, played out by the characters, from movies and stage plays. My favorite was a tryout where one of the actresses is doing Harry Lime. "FFS" is a cross between "Pulp Fiction" and "Living in Oblivion." I won't go so far as to recommend this movie but I will say I was fascinated by "FFS."