The Whole Ten Yards

The Whole Ten Yards

Film poster
Directed by Howard Deutch
Produced by David Willis
Allan Kaufman
Screenplay by George Gallo
Based on Story and characters
by Mitchell Kapner
Starring Bruce Willis
Matthew Perry
Amanda Peet
Kevin Pollak
Natasha Henstridge
Music by John Debney
Cinematography Neil Roach
Edited by Seth Flaum
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(Australia/New Zealand)
Release dates
  • April 7, 2004 (2004-04-07)
Running time
 98 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $40 million
Box office $26,155,781[1]

The Whole Ten Yards is a 2004 American crime comedy film directed by Howard Deutch and sequel to the 2000 film The Whole Nine Yards. It was based on characters created by Mitchell Kapner, who was the writer of the first film. The film stars Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, and Kevin Pollak. It was released on April 7, 2004 in North America. Unlike the first film, which was a commercial success despite receiving mixed reviews, The Whole Ten Yards was a major critical and commercial failure.

Plot

Thanks to falsified dental records supplied by his former neighbor Nicholas "Oz" Ozeransky (Matthew Perry), retired hitman Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Bruce Willis) now spends his days compulsively cleaning his house and perfecting his culinary skills with his wife, Jill (Amanda Peet), a purported assassin who has yet to pull off a "clean" hit (everyone she is hired to kill dies in bizarre accidents before she can kill them). Oz, meanwhile, is now married to Jimmy's ex-wife Cynthia (Natasha Henstridge) and has a dental practice in California, now expecting their first child, but the relationship is complicated due to Oz's over-excessive paranoia about security, as well as Cynthia's secret continued contact with Jimmy (Although Oz also talks with Jill on occasion).

Their lives are further complicated by the return of Laszlo Gogolak (Kevin Pollak), a father figure of Jimmy's who ran the mob that Jimmy was once a member of, Jimmy and Jill having killed his son, Janni, while Laszlo was in prison. Having deduced that Jimmy is still alive, Laszlo abducts Cynthia and threatens Oz to try to learn Jimmy's location, Oz only just managing to escape, by turning the lights out. With no other options, Oz contacts Jimmy and Jill for assistance, but Jimmy initially refuses to help until Laszlo's men attack the house after following Oz's car.

Having captured Laszlo's remaining son, Strabonitz (Strabo, for short), Jimmy tells Laszlo that he will trade Cynthia for Strabo, but the group's attempt to check into a hotel results in Oz unintentionally triggering further conflict between Jimmy and Jill when he reveals that Jimmy still wears a crucifix Cynthia gave him. Retreating to a bar to get drunk, Jimmy becomes increasingly depressed about his apparent failure to father a child with Jill, although Oz becomes frustrated when Jimmy starts discussing his and Cynthia's old sex life, culminating in them becoming so drunk that Oz and Jimmy wake up in the same bed (Although nothing happens).

Increasingly frustrated at her poor sex life with Jimmy, Jill attempts to seduce Oz, resulting in Jimmy walking in on them and knocking Oz out, subsequently regaining his passion for Jill and his work as the two proceed to have sex in the bathroom. While re-arming themselves at Oz's house, the three are attacked by an unknown marksman, whose attempts to shoot them result in Strabo being killed in the crossfire, the subsequent argument causing Jill to leave in frustration at Jimmy's insults of her capabilities and his cold dismissal of Oz. Increasingly driven to breaking point by recent events, Oz retreats to his practice, where Jimmy greets him to apologize for recent events, only for Oz's new receptionist Julie to chloroform Oz and Jimmy, revealing that she is the sister of 'Frankie Figgs', out for revenge for Oz and Jimmy's role in her brother's death.

Waking up with Cynthia and Jimmy in Laszlo's apartment, Oz is shocked to learn that the current situation has been part of a plan by Jimmy and Cynthia from the beginning so that Cynthia could find Laszlo's half of the first dollar he ever stole, which he had torn in half to be divided between Jimmy and Yanni when they were kids. Just as Laszlo is preparing to kill the three of them, Jill shows up, having set up Strabo's body so that he appears to be alive and tied up in her car, threatening to detonate explosives in her car unless Laszlo releases Oz and Cynthia. Claiming to want to join Laszlo's organization, Jill is ordered to shoot Jimmy, finally apparently shooting Jimmy in the heart when he informs her that she'll never be a successful hitter.

When Jill's car detonates when Laszlo's men go to release Strabo, it is revealed that Jill was in on the plan as well, having merely shot Jimmy with blanks. With Jules having been exposed as the shooter who killed Strabo, Laszlo shoots her, Jimmy subsequently having Jill shoot Laszlo in the foot, unable to kill the man who raised him. As the group depart, Jimmy and Cynthia reveal that the plan was set up to acquire Laszlo's half of the dollar, the combined dollar revealing the account number for a Gogalak account containing $280 million. With Jill having revealed that she is pregnant, the four drive away while the police arrest Laszlo.

Cast

Reception

Critics

The Whole Ten Yards was widely panned by critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a "rotten" score of 4% based on 118 reviews, with an average rating of 2.8/10. The site's consensus reads: "A strained, laugh-free sequel, The Whole Ten Yards recycles its predecessor's cast and plot but not its wit or reason for being". It was also indicated that only 48% of the audience liked the film.[2] Metacritic gives the film a score of 24 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews".[3]

Box office

Unlike the first film, which was a commercial success, The Whole Ten Yards was a box office bomb, bringing in only $16,328,471 in North America and $9,827,310 internationally. With a worldwide total of $26,155,781, less than one-quarter the gross of the original, the film did not recoup its $40 million budget.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 The Whole Ten Yards at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  2. ↑ "The Whole Ten Yards Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  3. ↑ "Whole Ten Yards, The (2004): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
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