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Stand Up Guys: Walken Delivers on Meh Script

By Sunny Choi · February 4, 2013

Despite my relative youth, I have always enjoyed films that follow elderly people pursuing life-changing adventures and goals. This ranges from movies like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, where a group of British older men and women experience love and friendship in a foreign country; or The Bucket List, which features the witty, humorous conversations between two older men dying of cancer who are making the most out of their limited time. These films often feature very high profile, veteran actors and actresses who bring their charm and charisma to fit their roles. From my experience, these films tend to convey the following messages:

  1. Old people are just people, many of whom are still very youthful and buoyant at heart, sometimes even more so than young people.
  2. Make the most out of the time you have. It’s never too late to make amends or try something new.
  3. Long-term friendship or companionship is key to enduring tough times.

As Stand Up Guys features all three ingredients, it often relies on the talents and quirks of its leading actors but as to whether the script can match them in being original or compelling, well that's still up for discussion.

Stand Up Guys follows the day long reunion of two old friends who at one time were literally partners in crime. As the title suggests, one man, Val (Al Pacino), took the fall for the entire pack and has served 28 years in prison. His best friend, Doc (Christopher Walken), tries to give him the time of his life before carrying out his last assignment—to kill Val. They meander around Baltimore, trekking in and out of brothels, late night diners, and falling back on their old ways when situations call for it.

At first, I couldn’t tell if I was going to like this film because the music in the background was blaring so loud and wildly gesturing to the hard knock lives they have led as second-rate criminals. The movie largely rests on the personas that each of the actors, Pacino and Walken, have created in their previous film roles. Pacino plays a gravelly voiced, semi-hedonistic man who is looking to go out with a bang and make the most of the time he has left. As Val, Pacino makes a couple of funny cracks at himself and always has the snappiest, most incisive quips for every occasion. Walken slightly deviates from his zany persona and plays a shy, stoic, and lonely man who watches over his friend. He delivers his lines with his iconic deadpan expression but manages to exude warmth and genuineness when regarding his old friend. At times, I wish there were more scenes dealing with his own internal conflict rather than him reacting to the antics of the more outgoing and adventurous Val. They make a good yin and yang team, each one balancing out the other—but this is more due to their acting prowess rather than the lackluster script.

This is especially the case when Pacino sweetly dances with a young woman, strongly referencing his Academy Award winning performance in The Scent of a Women. In this manner, the film treats both Pacino and Walken as museum pieces to admire rather than dynamic character actors who deserve more fleshed out and interesting roles.

The film dragged in the first half, especially as Val and Doc struggle to figure out their first event for the evening. The filmmakers could have cut out much of the brothel scenes, as it really didn’t add anything to the plot or characterization other than the fact that these men carry quite a bit of energy and potency despite their age. Another uninspired filmic choice is the characters’ return to the same diner nearly three times in a period of less than 24 hours. And the dialogue with the supporting characters was largely wooden and uninspired.

Alan Arkin’s appearance as their mutual friend did reinvigorate the film during an adventurous attempt at heroics as they help him break out of his nursing home (which they deem as the dying home). But this joy is short lived as the villain is portrayed as such a one-dimensional, hysterical madman that even some of the serious scenes emerge as farcical and insincere. This undercuts the believability and gravity of the film’s main conflict. It appears that the film struggles to reconcile the humorous dynamics of its two main characters with the larger serious conflict at hand.

This film, in addition to the occasional flashes of action and adventure, will also leave viewers sighing for the “good old days,” when everything was just simpler (you could even start cars with an actual key!). The narrative features a lot of dark humor in which we are mostly laughing, and yet also empathizing with the worn-out protagonists. It also exudes a message of carpe diem, kind of on the note of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Bucket List. Despite their debilitating conditions of illness, loneliness, and deprivation, these older men manage to exude greater exuberance and energy than most of the younger individuals represented in the film. Despite its tinge of nostalgia and some regrets, this movie constantly encourages viewers to confront life head-on with minimal fear and apprehension. 

Despite some of its flaws, older men, especially those that are fans of Pacino, Walken, and Arkin, may enjoy this movie. With its humor and streaks of adventure, the movie isn’t a bad choice for relaxing on a Sunday night with a can of soda before starting a busy week.