"Clay Pigeons" 1998

"Clay Pigeons"
“Alarm!”

I went into this movie in an ideal way. I had no clue what it was about. In the first ten minutes Joaquin Phoenix is confronted by his best friend for sleeping with his wife, gets framed for murder and covers it up. And then it gets crazy.

Just when things couldn’t get any worse, in walks Vince Vaughn and turns the dial up to eleven. Because as the infamous Lester “The Molester” Long he is all lanky, lethal charm in a cowboy hat. Soon the bodies are piling up and Joaquin Phoenix’s Clay has the bad luck of finding more than his share of them.

Lester is seductive, drawing people in so that they are dead before they realize they’ve made a mistake.  Then the FBI rolls in with Janeane Garofalo playing a great character who is smart and cynical.

There are so many great quotes.

“Clay, do me a favor. Stop finding dead bodies.”

“Your deputy’s name is Barney?”

“Barney, stop poking the body with a stick.”

“Don’t call me cowboy.”

“The P word, Clay. Patience.”

This movie is dark and funny. Vince Vaughn is a character he’s played before, but only on the surface. Under the goofy laugh and charming smile, there is a darkness that is barely held in check. Here is a pre-Dexter serial killer that you almost root for. But not quite.

I have a hard time watching other Vince Vaughn movies, wondering when he is going to use a butcher knife on Jennifer Anniston, or set Jon Favreau up for murder.

My favorite moment is near the end. The only scene between Vince Vaughn and Janeane Garofalo. They are sitting at a bar and he slowly peels away at her rejection like it’s a banana. He leans in for the kill. She leans too, wanting to hear what he has to say. Then the spell is broken and he is out the door before she realizes what happened. She barely has time to chastise herself before realizing the very person she was pursuing almost seduced her.

But finally it ends at a crossroads. There are many in this film. Each turn is delicious and multi-layered. I can watch it over and over. It is a great ride.