Made (2001 film)

Made
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJon Favreau
Written byJon Favreau
Produced byJon Favreau
Vince Vaughn
Peter Billingsley
StarringJon Favreau
Vince Vaughn
Peter Falk
Sean Combs
Famke Janssen
Faizon Love
CinematographyChristopher Doyle
Edited byCurtiss Clayton
Music byJohn O'Brien
Lyle Workman
Distributed byArtisan Entertainment (United States)
Summit Entertainment (International)[1]
Release date
  • July 13, 2001 (2001-07-13)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million
Box office$5.5 million[2]

Made is a 2001 American crime comedy film written, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau. It stars Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Peter Falk, and Sean Combs. It was both Favreau's feature directorial debut and Combs's acting debut.

Plot

Bobby (Favreau) has ties to the local mafia boss, Max (Falk), but works as an honest mason for Max's construction projects. He fights in amateur boxing matches on the side, but his career is lackluster (five wins, five losses, one draw). Struggling to support his stripper girlfriend Jessica and her daughter Chloe, Bobby decides to do a mafia job for Max. Against his better judgment, he brings along his ne'er-do-well friend Ricky.

Bobby and Ricky go to New York to act as Max's representatives for a money laundering deal with his East Coast partner, Ruiz. They meet Jimmy, who will be their driver, and Horrace, who is connected to both Max and Ruiz. Ricky and Bobby squabble throughout their trip as Ricky tries to live large while Bobby wants to stay cautious and stick to the letter of Max's instructions. Ruiz has a low opinion of the pair but sends them off to show his criminal contact, the Welshman, a good time. Gaffing several times along the way, the pair eventually manage to arrange a deal between Ruiz and the Welshman's Westie contacts.

Ricky grows suspicious of Ruiz and insists they bring a gun to their meeting with the Westies. Bobby adamantly refuses. On the day of the meeting, Ricky has disappeared, but Jimmy insists that Bobby carry on with the meeting. As Bobby begins to grow suspicious of Jimmy, he meets with the Welshman and the Westies. The Westies double-cross Bobby and the Welshman, but Ricky arrives from a side entrance with a gun. A Westie recognizes Ricky's weapon as a starter pistol and a fight breaks out. Jimmy arrives with a real pistol and sends the boys away while he deals with the Westies.

Back in Los Angeles, Bobby severs all business ties with Max. Arriving home, he discovers Jessica in bed with a client and snorting cocaine. Bobby tries to convince Jessica to clean up her act for Chloe's sake, but Jessica refuses. Instead, she asks that Bobby take custody of Chloe and leave. In an epilogue set at Chuck E. Cheese's, we learn that Bobby and Ricky are now raising Chloe together, although the two friends still bicker constantly.

Cast

Connections to other films

Because the film is written by Jon Favreau and stars Favreau and Vince Vaughn, it is commonly misinterpreted as a sequel to Swingers.[3] The license plate of Jimmy's Limo, "DBLDN11," is a reference to a blackjack strategy articulated in Swingers that one should "always double down on an 11."[4]

During Dustin Diamond's cameo, Ricky refers to him as "Screech," referencing Diamond's character on Saved By the Bell.[5]

Reception

The critical reception of the film was generally positive, receiving a 70% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 105 reviews, with an average score of 6.3/10. The site's consensus reads "Not as good as Swingers, but it's still witty and goofy enough for some laughs."[6] The film received a limited release in the United States and had almost no release overseas. It had a world box office gross of $5.5 million.[2]

References

  1. ^ Levy, Emanuel (16 July 2001). "Made". Screen International. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Made". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  3. ^ Hepola, Sarah (July 27, 2001). "Double Down". Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  4. ^ "Jon Favreau's MADE is a Must Watch If You Haven't Seen It, If You Have Here are Some Fun Facts". GeekTyrant. 17 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2024-09-26. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  5. ^ "The 25 Most Unexpected Celebrity Cameos in Movies". Complex. April 25, 2013. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "Made". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2024-09-26. Retrieved 2022-11-05.