“U-Turn” is the kind of movie that makes me like to write about movies.
As usual, Oliver Stone has produced two hours of utterly confusing, intriguing and thought-provoking cinema, under the guise of standard theater fare. Stone consistently presents a fairly basic theme in ways never before thought possible.
“U-Turn” tells the story of Bobby (Sean Penn), a down-on-his-luck traveler who ends up in the small town of Superior, Arizona when his car breaks down. Obviously Bobby is a big-city kind of a guy, a trait made much more apparent when he starts to insult Darrell (Billy Bob Thornton), the one mechanic within fifty miles.
As he wanders into Superior, he runs into a non-stop onslaught of strange and interesting characters. First there is an old blind man (Jon Voight) who, constantly complaining about losing his eyes in Vietnam, orders Bobby across the street to get him a Dr. Pepper. His dog, seemingly asleep at his feet, is not tired, but dead.
Next he meets (rather, tries to pick up) Grace (Jennifer Lopez), an alluring hispanic beauty whom he accompanies home. They flirt to the point of frustration, and when Bobby finally kisses her, her husband Jack (Nick Nolte) barges in.
Other characters he finds himself with: Jenny (Claire Danes), a flirtatious teen who all but propositions Bobby until her boyfriend, Toby N. Tucker (Joaquim Phoenix) - T.N.T - threatens him with a fight.
Confused yet? Well, I was too.
But it only gets better. As it turns out, Bobby owes someone thirteen thousand dollars - money he had with him until a pair of hoodlums rob the grocery store he’s in, take his bag, and the bag is shot to bits, shredding the cash. So, to get the dough, he accepts an offer from Jack to kill Grace for thirteen grand.
Pretty soon, everyone wants to kill everyone, no one trusts anyone, and nearly everyone dies. Bobby says it best: “Is everyone in this town on drugs?”
Touted as a black comedy, “U-Turn” delivers as promised. Mostly black, not so much comedy. There are a few jokes scattered within the script, but most of the humor comes from the outrageous characterizations. Best are Thornton’s not-as-dumb-as-he-looks car repairman, and Voight’s everything-isn’t-as-it-seems blind beggar.
Sean Penn, as his usual self-destructive character, is wonderful as usual. He fits the Oliver Stone filmmaking technique to a “T” and probably makes the film more believable than it should have been.
While “U-Turn” isn’t perfect, it is constantly intriguing, and much more interesting than anything I’ve seen in a long time. If nothing else, the constant parade of big-name Hollywood celebs (even Liv Tyler has a cameo) is fascinating to observe and appreciate.
Grade: B+