 Kicked in the Head
Reviewed by: Brian Nigro CONTRIBUTOR
(Starring: Kevin Corrigan, Linda Fiorentino / Director: Matthew Harrison / Released by: October Films) Kicked In The Head is a pointless, instantly forgettable movie about low-lifes in New York City. October (which is now owned by Universal) is promoting this as a comedy for the "Generation X" crowd. Frankly, it's not. The only main character is Redman (Kevin Corrigan), a loser who just quit his job to go on a "spiritual quest." In between running drugs for his Uncle Sam (James Woods), he crashes at his friend Stretch's (Michael Rapaport) apartment. Meanwhile, a drug kingpin played by Burt Young (from the Rocky movies) sends his cronies after him for botching a delivery. In between all this mayhem, Redman finds time to dump a true friend (indie film veteran Lili Taylor) so he can go after an airline stewardess (Linda Fiorentino from Men in Black). Martin Scorcese produced this movie; and, initially, it really is reminscent of his New York nightmare After Hours. But, after a while, the story goes nowhere. Is it a Generation X comedy or is a gangster drama? The screenplay here is extremely sloppy (not as bad as Dream With Fishes, earlier this summer, but close.) This isn't so-bad-it's-good, it's a bad movie because it tries too hard.
Kicked in The Head is rated R for very extensive profanity (over 150 four-letter words and profanities, etc.), violence, recurring sexual innuendo, comic treatment of drug use and alcoholism, and constant chain smoking. Also, there is minor anti-Japanese, anti-Jewish, anti-Irish, and despite one Dean Martin song on the soundtrack, anti-Italian sentiment. Kicked in the head, indeed. Year of Release — 1997 [ If our reviews have been helpful to you, please prayerfully consider a donation to help pay the expenses for making this service available to you and your family! Donations are tax-deductible. ] |
