Except for this weekend's third Lecter movie, there truly aren't many options in the theaters for movie fans. If you don't want to subject yourself to \Sweet Home Alabama"" or ""The Tuxedo,"" and you're tired of hearing about ""My Big Fat Greek Wedding,"" what's a filmgoer to do? Turn to a former New Kid On The Block, of course.
After being released late September 2001, indie-film ""Diamond Men"" finally reaches Hilldale Theater, 702 Midvale Blvd., this week. Starring Donnie Wahlberg and Robert Forster, ""Diamond Men"" shows why independent films can be a welcome change of pace from typical Hollywood fare'and why films like ""Y Tu Mama Tambien"" and ""Greek Wedding"" have been making a box-office impact.
The film opens with the setup: Diamond salesman Eddie Miller (Forster) suffers a heart attack. After 30 years on his route, the company's insurance decides that he is a liability and refuses to cover him. In debt after his late wife's unsuccessful bout with cancer, Eddie asks for any position they can give him. Given no choice, he's now expected to break in the new guy that will replace him, Bobby Walker (Wahlberg).
The first act of the film is an exercise in subtle comedy. Forster and Wahlberg embody these two characters completely and believably. The generational Odd Couple starts with tolerance, and just as the tension builds, Bobby and Eddie somehow connect as friends. Thus begins the training of both; Eddie teaches Bobby how to work small-town owners, avoid being robbed of his $1 million cargo and that a traveling salesman never leaves Chinese food in the car overnight. In return, Bobby tries his best to get his older partner to lighten up. Though his first attempt, a trip to a ""massage"" parlor, fails, Eddie eventually hooks up with Katie (Bess Armstrong), a mature older woman with a dirty past of her own.
This is director Daniel Cohen's first feature film. He keeps it basic and authentic; he nails the Midwestern feel of the various locales Eddie and Bobby travel to. The simple lettering of each week maintains the basic but effective appearance and his direction gets the job done. Disappointingly, the last third of the movie strays into a theft plot that never feels quite right. Thankfully, Cohen more than makes up for this with the final five minutes that restores the characters as they should be.
However, Forster and Wahlberg have a chemistry that is both unforeseen (after all, this is a NKOTB alum) and enjoyable. Forster and Wahlberg have solid roles to fill, and they do so with tremendous nuanced performances. Simple, classic looks exchanged between Eddie and Bobby are able to elicit laughs; more importantly, they often remind the audience that perhaps generational gaps aren't as big as they seem. The film likely won't do much to boost commercial prospects for either Forster or Wahlberg, but it has garnered them much deserved critical praise'and delivers a thoroughly enjoyable alternative to the current below-average box-office fare.
