*refrains from making the obvious joke* (Idle Hands (DVD))

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	Idle Hands (DVD)
Date:	15/01/04 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Seeth Green and Jessica Alba, Funny in parts, Good pace through the film

Disadvantages: Perhaps a touch too short?, Not so much hilarious as humourous throughout

The tagline for "Idle Hands" is 'A touching story of a boy and his right hand'. Right there, you'll get the gist of what it's all about. At least you would if you dragged your mind out of the gutter. Get it out of there now. Good.

On the approach to Hallowe'en, Anton Tobias awakes one morning to find that there is a serial killer in town. His stoner friends, Mick and Pnub, inform him that there have been several grisly murders in their town and the culprit has yet to be found. Meanwhile, in another part of the United States, Debi LeCure is hunting someone or something, but we're not entirely sure what. It's imperative that she does so before Hallowe'en though or something terribly bad will happen.

When Mick and Pnub visit the Tobias household, it's discovered that Anton's right hand has a mind of its own. A mind that has only one thing on it's mind... *deep husky voice* Murder.

Films with stoners in it are good, and Idle Hands is no exception. To be honest, I'd never heard that much about Idle Hands and I only watched it because the future Mrs. TheDuke, Jessica Alba, was in it.

Released in 1999, Idle Hands features what was then some up-and-coming talent. Devon Sawa has since appeared in "Final Destination", Seth Green has been seen in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Austin Powers" and Jessica Alba has starred in "James Cameron's Dark Angel".

It's not a total horror movie by any means, and is more of a cross between the old teen comedies and the newer horror-spoofs which we've seen plenty of, recently. It's certainly a lot more funny than horror, and the overall tone reminds me a lot of "Tremors" where you just get this idea that the whole thing was fun to make.

The highlight for me was the interaction between Seth Green and Elden Henson as the two stoners Mick and Pnub. Their banter is very
funny, and this is exacerbated by the situation they find themselves in quite early on. They play off each other very well, and it's a good showcase for Seth Green's comic talents which he later shows off in the Austin Powers movies. The other two main leads, Devon Sawa and Jessica Alba, do their jobs well without being outstanding and add to the fun, almost cheesy, atmosphere without going overboard. Sawa shows good physical comedy capabilities near the start of the film when his hand first showing signs of life, sometimes almost like Lee Evans.

The plot itself is mostly a forgettable affair, after all it is only "evil hand kills all!", but some of the set pieces are extremely funny, and Idle Hands does end up being more than the sum of its' parts. For those who may be concerned by such matters, it's not a gory movie (although there are one or two scenes which contain blood). There is a touch of bad language and nudity in it, but not much, although it is an '18' movie, probably more to do with the drug use than anything else.

Overall, I thought this was a funny movie, and one which I would definitely watch again. However, I don't think I liked it enough to go out and buy it on video or DVD unless it was in a sale, but would make a point of watching it if it makes an appearance on telly.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Devon Sawa - Anton Tobias
Seth Green - Mick
Elden Henson - Pnub
Jessica Alba - Molly
Jack Noseworthy - Randy
Vivica A. Fox - Debi LeCure
Fred Willard ? Anton's Dad
Connie Ray - Anton's Mum

Running time: 90mins

Summary: