Arkansas

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If you've ever been into raunchy teen movies in recent years, you're probably at least somewhat familiar with Clark Duke. He can first be spotted (at least with movies) in 'Superbad', crdited as "Party Teenager", but has since become better known for his roles in 'Sex Drive' and 'Hot Tub Time Machine'. I've always kind of enjoyed his characters, being altogether nerdy but charismatic, so when it came to this film, I was looking forward to checking out his directorial debut - especially with a relatively star-studded cast.

Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) is a drug dealer, working for a man he has never met before, known only as "Frog" (Vince Vaughn). He has been promoted to work wholesale in Arkansas, where he meets up with his assigned partner in crime, Swin (Duke). Eventually they find themselves working under the orders of Frog's representatives, Bright (John Malkovich) and Her (Vivica A. Fox), posing as junior park rangers by day, and trafficking under the cover of night. Swin also ends up complicating things by going against direct orders and taking up a relationship with a local named Johnna (Eden Brolin).

When one particular deal goes south, however, Kyle, Swin and Johnna all find themselves at Frog's mercy. Meanwhile, through some misunderstanding, Frog is actually mistaking the small group as a threat to his empire. Half of the film follows this story while the other half is focused on how Frog got to be in the head honcho position he's in now. The film jumps back and forth, and much like an episode of 'Breaking Bad', there's a lot of "This happened - now let me show you how we got there."

The film is perfectly solid for what it is, but its strengths are also its weaknesses. What I mean by this is that everything here is pretty derivative, and it sort of reflects a lot of the loose, casual crime movies of the 90s - which, by the way, are all quite a bit better. This is no comparison to 'Pulp Fiction' or 'Goodfellas', but it does share that type of mild but dark  sense of humor. It's just that not a whole lot happens. It's mostly watching Frog get to where he is, while also watching two characters in the midst of something that isn't their fault.

If you're looking for a dark crime movie with a slight sense of humor right now, this is a pretty decent place to look. If I'm honest, given he performances in this movie that were all pretty good, I kinda wanna see what else Clark Duke can do. This one's based on the book of the same name by John Brandon, and you can tell Duke has a fun time directing some of these bigger names. It got me curious to hopefully see what kind of original stuff he can come up with in the future.

It won't win the best movie of the year, and it may be kinda slow-moving for some. But if you do have an appreciation for any sort of crime movie that has a laid-back tempo to it, this could very well fulfill your viewing desires for the time being. You're mostly gonna look at the performances here, as it's very character-driven. But if you come here for an edge of your seat story with plenty of action and edge of your seat moments, it's not exactly a gold mine. It's decent, but average. You may not love or hate it, but like me, deem it passable for what it is.

​3/5

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