Category Archives: New Movie

I never thought the life of a pickpocket was particularly endearing but after seeing the trailer for IFC Films’ Loosies, I’m not so sure. Master thief Bobby seems to be cruising along easy street — fine dining, buying to his hearts content and bedding pretty girls — that is until he finds out a one-night stand has resulted in a pregnancy. With the law playing catch up, can Bobby clean up his act? My money says he does… Loosies stars Peter Facinelli, Jaimie Alexander, Vincent Gallo, Michael Madsen, Joe Pantoliano and William Forsythe.
Storyline
A young pickpocket in the New York subways, living a fast, free, lifestyle is confronted by a woman whom he had a one night affair with, she informs him that she is now pregnant with his child, he must now choose between continuing the lifestyle he lead or take responsibility for his actions.
Bobby (Peter Facinelli) is living the high life in the new drama “Loosies.” He works on Wall Street, dates beautiful women and has a great boss (Vincent Gallo). Well, that’s what it seems like on the outside to those closest to him (which would basically just consist of his mother). Dig a little deeper, and you find out that Bobby’s actual profession is that of a pickpocket, and his boss is a man who his late father owed $500,000 in gambling debt. Now, Bobby is slowly paying it off by working for him as an elusive street thief.
Oh, and the beautiful women? Well, one of them is three months pregnant and runs into Bobby. That becomes the central conflict of this hidden gem, available now via Video on Demand. Well, and the fact that Lt. Sullivan (Michael Madsen) is doing everything in his power to catch Bobby on account of the fact that Bobby got a little too greedy and pick pocketed his badge.
“Loosies” works mostly due to a strong and very likable script (which Facinelli wrote). The film gives us real characters with real reasons to dislike them, but what drives the film is how the actors and script show show us small details about each character that are positive. We want everything to be OK.
These characters are so different, yet their paths interconnect, bringing us a very unusual and entertaining film. Lt. Sullivan belongs in a Dirty Harry movie, while Bobby actually probably belongs in “Wall Street” (someone say “Wall Street 3?” On second thought, don’t), and Gallo’s eccentric boss just belongs in an eccentric Gallo movie, I suppose.
Each actor brings something unique to the script. They make the film interesting and drive it along. The script helps because it moves at a fast pace but never uses false gimmicks and Hollywood clichés to drive the plot forward. It simply tells us a story, and that should be fine with anyone who enjoyed old Hollywood before the new one rode in with a vengeance.
The film’s second half is its strongest and also one that conservatives will particularly enjoy. After finding out that Lucy (Jaimie Alexander) is pregnant, Bobby decides to just get rid of it. So, being the upstanding gent that he is, he offers to pay for an abortion and personally take her (which leads to some great scenes when Bobby can’t enter his home to get the money on account of scary Madsen being staked outside).
After finally convincing her, Bobby takes her to the clinic. He takes a strong look around. He sees another young couple and it hits him. It’s a baby, his baby. It’s not some stray dog. Thus, the film grows a heart and Bobby grows some old-school machismo.
In a world of “Transformers” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” it’s nice to see an artist like Facinelli, best known for his work in the “Twilight” series, want to tell a real story with real characters and real hardships. The film isn’t great, but it has moments of greatness because of the fantastic performances by everyone all around. Facinelli is great in the lead role. He’s never showy and performs Bobby’s growth as a character perfectly.
Alexander has old-school charisma and steals every scene she’s in. Madsen fits perfectly into his role and Gallo, as usual, adds layers upon layers onto his character. By the end of it all, it may be hard to figure out whether Jax was truly evil or not. The direction by Michael Corrente is also impressive. The film may clearly be low budget, but the lighting and the way he focuses his camera gives great detail to the picture and adds a moodiness that wouldn’t have been there without it.
“Loosies” is not a masterpiece, but it is a solid piece of cinema. Forget the gimmicks, forget the clichés. Just sit back and enjoy a great story that will tug you along from start to finish all while entertaining you and leaving you with some food for thought, which is more than most movies today can say.
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