| Very Bad Things | 
 enlarge | Director: Peter Berg
Actors: Christian Slater, Daniel Stern, Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau, Leland Orser
Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $1.55
You Save: $18.40 (92%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  200 reviews
Sales Rank: 80453
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 100
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Array
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 6305353549
UPC: 044005827729
EAN: 9786305353546
ASIN: 6305353549
Theatrical Release Date: November 25, 1998
Release Date: May 18, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Peter Berg's dark comedy about a bachelor party gone horribly awry is highly ambitious in its attempts to satirize suburbia, male bonding, and self-help philosophy, and for the most part it does succeed in hitting its targets with a malicious, misanthropic glee. When five buddies arrive in Las Vegas for some pre-wedding shenanigans, things quickly spiral out of control when the requisite prostitute falls victim to a grisly accident, igniting a spark in an already unstable powder keg of personalities. Following the lead of real estate agent and self-help guy Robert (Christian Slater), the men warily agree on a cover-up and covert desert burial. A couple hours and another corpse later, however, they're already at each other's throats, and their escalating breakdowns threaten to disrupt the highly prized wedding of hard-as-nails bride Laura (a stunning Cameron Diaz). Berg, like most actor-turned-directors (this is The Last Seduction star's filmmaking debut) helms the film with a wildly sliding tone and tends to weigh its strengths heavily on its performers. Slater's psycho turn is by far his most inventive yet (he's more in control than ever before), Diaz effectively mixes sunshine with poison, and Jon Favreau is effective and understated as the hapless bridegroom; the rest of the cast, however, tends to play up the histrionics. Be warned, though: Those expecting a sunny-style There's Something About Mary gross-out comedy will probably be shocked by Berg's take-no-prisoners agenda; this is comedy at its absolute blackest, and no one is spared. --Mark Englehart
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| Customer Reviews: Read 195 more reviews...
 Very Black Comedy July 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This very dark film is as good as black comedy gets. An accidental death (don't want to give too much away) at a bachelor party leads to a series of horrific events. Strange and grotesque scenarios occur - escalating into an unexpected ending. Christian Slater plays his role so well its scary. I highly recommend this film - but with a warning: Its not for the faint-hearted.
 black comedy at its best May 27, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
come on people, you have to be able to appreciate real reactions from real situations. Expect the unexpected. Although i dont see the sequence of events happening in real life, the events and reactions are however real, =and can be real. So what theres no likeable character, these people act like most real people, "everyone out for themselves". And yes alot of times its funny to see the decision and reactions that people relly make in life. It has a storyline, it has great actors, it has blck comedy. get over it.
A wild, thrilling savory (acquired) taste February 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
by dane youssef
Well, now here's one that feels like doesn't just feel like another machine-made piece from off the assembly line. Here is a movie that feels like it has it's own ideas, thoughts, edges and all.
The studio execuives didn't dig their claws into this one, sucking all the nerve and originality out of it just to make it inoffensive and more filt for mass consumption.
All the more making this a move that's really worth seeing for those who don't like movies that just connect-the-dots and paint-by-numbers. In other words, a movie that desperately needs to exist. And be seen.
A bizzare combo protein-shake of black comedy, thriller and horror show, this is one of those Slow Saturday Night cult films that the weirdo clerk behind the counter is always personally recommending for those customers who ae kind of like his pals.
"Very Bad Things" is a film that plays out like a worse-case scenerio. One of those movies that puts a group of relative people in a situation where everything that can possibly go wrong... does. Hopefully, with results that translate to a good movie.
I found the movie to work on multiple levels. As an angry, aggressive, and assertive male-bonding comedy. As a thriller. As a white-knuckle, nail-biting action film. As a nightmare.
Writer/Director Peter Berg remarks he came up with the idea for this movie when he was at a bachelor party and saw the rowdy and over-the-top behavior from a lot of the other guests. These guys were looking for trouble, he said. What would happen if they found it? More than they could handle.
The movie is all-over-the-map, but I like that about it. Berg sets up some cynical suburbanites and their rowdy behavior and puts them in several life-or-death situations, which despite what many say, is thrilling to watch.
Christian Slater gives the strongest performance as the devil-may-care Robert Boyd, a man who seems to have no moral threshold. We never doubt his actions for a second. Slater knows how to play this character as plays him to the hilt.
Daniel Stern plays his usual nebbish. From the "City Slickers" movies, the "Home Alone" movies and all his others, he's appropriately nervous and uneasy--especially after what's occurring right now. There's are massive murders bobbing up and the body count is still rising.
Cameron Diaz is also effective doing an evil turn on the wedding-obsessed loon she was in "My Best Friend's Wedding" as a woman who doesn't care about anything else but having her big day. As far as she's concerned, the guests and the groom are secondary. She nitpicks and she bullies and berates. Many guys see this as the epitome of the woman who's about to have her big day.
Jon Faverau isn't as "money" as he's been in other roles, but maybe that's because he's supposed to be the straight man. He's a little too straight. Too stiff. You kind of wish they had spiced him up some more. He appears to just be in shock and going along with the flow most of the time, like a tag-along.
The movie plays out as a dark comedic thriller and at times a morality tale. What I like the most is the anarchy of the film and the performance of Christian Slater and especially the different ways the men and women in the movie react to him.
Watch for his scene with Tripplehorn when they go one-on-one. The homages to "Good Fellas" and "Reservior Dogs" are cute and memorable too.
Like I said before, this is a must-see for anyone who hates generic, paint-by-numbers movies. If this sounds like your cup of tea (and it damn well should), you're someone after my own heart. Then THIS is a must-see.
Next time you're at the video store looking for a movie with huevos that hit hard (but don't worry, not down there exactly)...
danessf@yahoo.com
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very dark, very good December 13, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Be warned, this movie is seriously twisted. If you're not into dark comedies or just don't get that kind of humor, don't watch this movie. I loved it. Jeremy Piven and Daniel Stern are awesome, Christian Slater is solid, and Cameron Diaz is halfway decent. This movie should be required viewing for any man before his bachelor party. Just a downward spiral from first to last and absolutely hilarious to those of us who are sick and twisted. I can understand why some of the reviewers didn't like it--just not their cup of tea. It's a solid effort and one of my all time favorites.
PETER BERG, OPUS 1 December 11, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
*** 1998. Written and directed by Peter Berg. A black comedy about how to avoid to be arrested for murder when you are about to get married. No morality here, just a good little movie with funny actors. The last scene is a little jewel of pure madness. Check it !
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