‘The Bouncer’ Is Just Too Stiff [Review]
Picture this: the brooding and sexy Dalton from Roadhouse, morphed with the calm karate master Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid, pummeling a bunch of baddies with entertaining one-liners and a killer smile. Pretty kick-ass collaboration, right? Yeah, that’s nowhere near what you’ll see in The Bouncer.
Writer and director Massimiliano Cerchi set some ambitious goals for this independent crime movie. It’s a shame he never quite reaches them. The story centers on nightclub bouncer Frank Sharp (a dull, miscast John Ozuna), who moved overseas in his attempt to escape a murder charge. Of course, like Dalton, it was self-defense, but that doesn’t make much of a difference here. His new position involves protecting the clients who enter and keeping out the unwanted and underaged while schmoozing with high-profile figures. Immediately, we’re exposed to his fighting tactics when faced with local hooligans attempting to access the club. While Ozuna’s technique is impressive, his acting chops are not, and I knew in the first five minutes that this would be a long evening.
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Once Costas Mandylor’s Kane steps out of an expensive BMW with a reluctant young girl, Sharp’s full attention (and mine) zeros in on this fearful VIP. Kane’s history of drugs, weapons, trafficking, and other corruption provokes the bouncer to act on his second night of work after witnessing this thug strike another girl in public. Without hesitation, Frank starts another brawl and swipes the girl away before they’re killed.
Thus begins a long, winding journey of cat and mouse through the desolate streets of Bucharest.
Oh joy.
While they fight their way to a safe place (think The Warriors without the cool threads), they drive aimlessly in the now-stolen BMW, trying to figure out how to lose kingpin Kane. The duo bustles from place to place, making phone calls, removing tracking devices, and doing whatever they can to avoid being killed by Kane’s flunkies. During the few times they’re able to rest (always in a vacated BMW! Was there a kick-back going on?), we’re shown memories from Frank’s past, which at first seem significant to his current situation.
Through one meaningful flashback, Frank Sharp is beside his mother who is hospitalized with an illness that requires surgery, which he cannot afford. The interaction with his sister over their bedridden mom is so awkward and nonsensical that it clouds (what I believed to be) potentially vital information as to Frank’s relocation to Romania. However, this 10-minute scene has absolutely no bearing on any of the events that follow. It’s just strange and thoughtless without any relevance, especially when we are granted access to his apartment which by the look of it is quite lovely. If he couldn’t afford his mother’s surgery, but can afford a posh pad, then real estate in Romania must be amazing!
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Before I continue, I’m still wondering why bachelor Frank had a drawer full of make-up in his bathroom, which Silvia took advantage of to cover up a black eye. What was the point of this?
During the relentless chases through the night, the inevitable happens. Silvia and Frank kiss. Ordinarily, I would find this sweet and comforting, even as the dead bodies from Kane’s disappointment in his “army” pile up. However, the forced chemistry between these two characters only resulted in the “ick” factor. I had to look away.
The Bouncer is a crime drama/thriller that had an opportunity to discuss the atrocity of human trafficking, especially with Frank’s desire to save Silvia. But the lame justification Frank gives Silvia is a throw-away excuse to avoid expanding on a real reason he put his life on the line for a stranger. We will never know why. And more importantly, we will never really care.
Since Mandylor’s seasoned gangster Kane commanded every scene, I upgraded The Bouncer one point based on his talent and great delivery of quips such as “You’ve been very helpful. I will let you live” and “You have very nice house. You should find very nice wife.” In contrast to Ozuna’s stiff and inauthentic bouncer role, I was merely hoping for more Kane and less Frank.
And perhaps another shiny BMW to drool over.
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The Bouncer
Summary
Not even Costas Mandylor can save this stiff crime thriller.
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