The Whole Nine Yards
★★★ 1/2
I adored The Whole Nine Yards when it originally released in 2000. It's a film that plays into my comedic sensibilities with its witty dialogue, physical pratfalls and back-stabbing plot. We rewatched this film in honor of the tragic passing of Matthew Perry and though he will always be known as Chandler Bing, this movie proves that he had the comedic heft to carry a movie. Perry is in almost every scene of this movie and completely can carry his own against a wonderful ensemble that includes Bruce Willis, Natasha Henstridge, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rosanna Arquette, Kevin Pollak and Harland Williams.
The Whole Nine Yards is still a real fun watch, but watching it 23 years later, its simplicity stood out to me. It's not a surprise that the film has been forgotten in a lot of ways (possibly due to the tragedy of its sequel) because the movie isn't trying to rock the boat. It doesn't bring anything new to the comedy crime caper, but it plays into the genre really well with solid acting and terrific one-liners. And sometimes that's all you are looking for when you sit down to watch a movie. You want something that will make you laugh and not make you think too hard, and The Whole Nine Yards completely delivers on that front.
