Clay Pigeons (1998)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Let's be realistic.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

After he is discovered to be having weekly intercourse with a friend's wife, studly Joaquin Phoenix (as Clay) must dispose of the suicidal man's body, or be accused of the shooting. While trying to fend off the advances of his dead pal's sexpot widow, Mr. Phoenix meets burping cowboy drifter Vince Vaughn (as Lester) in the local watering hole. The two men bond over cigarettes and beer. Soon, they are fishing buddies.Then, prowling widow Georgina Cates (as Amanda) shoots estranged lover Phoenix' newest bed-pal pick-up, while the two are in the act; and, Phoenix must again dispose of a body. Next, Mr. Vaughn hooks up with Ms. Cates, and stabs her forty times. As it turns out, Vaughn is a serial killer, with over a dozen victims to his credit. Vaughn decides to frame Phoenix as the killer, as FBI agent Janeane Garofalo (as Shelby) tries to sort out the bloody mess.David Dobkin's "Clay Pigeons" offers surprisingly little sense, or suspense; however, it is an enjoyable effort. The cast helps a lot. Ms. Garofalo participates in some particularly effective scenes; check out her pizza ordering, and aborted barroom "pick-up" scene. Garofalo, Phoenix, and Vaughn are refreshingly assailable performers; and, this quality is pleasingly evident throughout the film. Vince Vieluf (as Barney) does "Deputy Fife" proud. Finally, Eric Edwards' photography is lovely.****** Clay Pigeons (9/15/98) David Dobkin ~ Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo

Starts off well but only goes downhill from there. Down, down, down... The plot is outrageously far-fetched, illogical, and full of numerous mind-blowing coincidences.How is it, for example, that a suicidal person, a murdering whore, and a mass murderer ALL happen to be involved with Phoenix? And this is just one of many bits of nonsense. Another one: how the hell did Vaughn know about all that happened?! Rather predictable, too; particularly in the last half-hour.Some silly details: Garofalo identifying killer through cigarette stub(!), deputy's helper falling asleep, and many others. (Can't be bothered to list them.) An insane bit of (mis)casting was to make Garofalo and FBI agent - and she has been on the force for 12 years!!! So when did she start?! At 18?! And 12 years doing what?? Shopping for generation X clothes? What's next, Drew Barrymore as the US President? Tom Cruise as a brilliant scientist? Matt Damon as a heterosexual? Vaughn, on the other hand, simply hams it up, as he always does. One of the few roles in which Phoenix isn't that bad.

I saw Clay Pidgeons for the first time yesterday. My sister has loved this movie for a long time. I have to say that I haven't had that much fun in a while. I LOVED Lester Long and had so much fun watching little Joaquin Phoenix. I have to say that I don't think anyone can make you love a psycho killer like Vince Vaughn did. On that note, I liked that, at the diner, they showed that even though Vince Vaughn is so good that he makes you love Lester Long, Lester's still a bad person.I loved the dark humor of the movie as well. There were so many great one-liners. I would have to say that even 50 years from now, the line, 'Lester the Molester', will make me die laughing. Finally, I hope that if you haven't already seen this great movie, you will take give it a chance to make your day.

There must have been something in the original script for this film to get the mutually antagonist Scott brothers (Ridley and Tony) behind this. It hardly seems worth the fuss. It's a contrived potboiler with tiny shades of David Lynch, the Coen brothers and Tarantino, and even Hitchcock. In fact, the film appears to be mostly a redneck version of Hitchcock's 'Strangers on a Train.' It also has an interesting cast, although in the end it is the characters that matter and no casting can save what isn't written or directed well. Vaughn's part is the showiest and he has the looks and zest to make it work, but his Lester Long character is played too loudly. There's no undercurrent of madness or menace, no dropping down of voice or personality to reveal the evil behind the mask of charming bravado. And such a flamboyant persona on a traveling mass murderer would make him stand out a mile during an investigation. Indeed, this film's own lack of subtlety is a big part of its problem. It sets up Phoenix's 'Clay' character's dilemma early on, but strains credibility by adding on another murder and then shoehorning in, by utter coincidence, a serial killer (Vaughn's 'Lester Long') to pile up the body count. In fact, even the set-up suicide at the beginning is forced: the humiliated husband would simply kill Phoenix then himself, maybe even the wife, too. He wouldn't go through all the trouble to set things up just so he'll be dead with the idea that Phoenix will be accused of murder. In the history of sexual affair crimes when has that scenario ever been seen? And then we follow with another killing by another character (Georgina Cates as the widow) to be followed by Vaughn's 'Lester' popping up to do so more killing. C'mon, now, this is silly. Then there is a pair of federal agents showing up to investigate and we get Janeane Garofalo and John Morris. Now, I think Garofalo is adorable with a low-key presence that is just right for the film (and an antidote to the histrionics of Vaughn) but I can't buy her as a long-time cop. Not for a second. She's slumming as a guest star here ("Special Fun Appearance by Ms. Janeane Garofalo") and her partner Morris is something out of an Esquire magazine fashion ad ("Special Non-Speaking Performance by Male Model") About the only on-the-money characters are Sheriff Mooney and the slutty widow. Scott Wilson is perfect as the Sheriff and quite believable. Unlike his deputy (named 'Barney' - oh, brother!) the character is not played as a yokel who is in over his head. Then there is the evil widow, played by Georgina Cates, who is letter perfect in the role. Not only that, but Cates is an English actress, yet you can't detect even a hint of her natural accent. And on the pulchritude scale, she and Nikki Arlyn (as the waitress-victim) rate highly. And as for Phoenix, he tries... but it's hard to get behind a character low enough to have an affair with his best friend's wife, and who also can't seem to summon the intelligence to deal with the psychotic personalities of Cates and Vaughn. I also agree with many others who feel that the ending is a sloppy cop-out. It's an attempt at adding one more trick but it seems as contrived as everything else: more about cleverness than common sense.