Film Review: Gun Shy (2000)
The quality of a Hollywood film can often be discerned by the timing of its release, with early slots in the year typically reserved for titles that studios lack confidence in. Gun Shy, a 2000 comedy written and directed by Eric Blakeney, fell into this category.
The protagonist, played by Liam Neeson, is Charlie Maylough, an experienced DEA agent whose latest undercover mission went terribly wrong, leaving him with deep psychological traumas. His superiors nevertheless want him to continue with his job, so he is forced to cope by attending group therapy sessions. Another issue are gastroenterological problems that force him to spend time in hospital when she is treated by eccentric but attractive nurse Judy Tipp (played by Sandra Bullock). At the same time he gets involved in complicated undercover operation targetting Fidel Vaillar (played by José Zúñiga), son of Colombian drug lord, and Fulvio Nesstra (played by Oliver Platt), ambitious and hot-tempered son-in-law of Mafia boss Carmine Minetti (played by Frank Vincent).
Things start to go badly for Gun Shy at the very start due to a disturbing scene of graphic violence, setting a challenge for author wanting to steer the film into what was supposed to be a comedy. Blakeney, who had worked mostly on television, apparently lacked the talent for that. Emphasis on protagonist’s digestive issues brought too much crude humour, and the jokes based on ethnic ethnic and cultural stereotypes, didn’t work either. Some of those jokes could even be interpreted as homophobic, further alienating this film from some of today’s, more sensitive, viewers.
Liam Neeson, who, at that point of his career still had to build persona of an action star, appeared visibly uncomfortable playing comedy and his complete lack of chemistry with Sandra Bullock didn’t help. Their romantic subplot seemed disconnected with the rest of the film. Bullock, who produced the film, ended with one of the more forgettable titles of her filmography. But her work on Gun Shy ultimately wasn’t for nought. She apparently learned from her mistake, and her next production Miss Congeniality, a comedy with similar theme, was much more successful.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
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