Two Days in the Valley Movie Review 1996

Film adds two days with ten characters in one locale and one half dozen separate plots and tries to come up with a dark comedy/thriller and winning debut for Herzfeld. It succeeds, mostly. San Fernando Valley is the backdrop, with a diverse ensemble of disturbed characters thrown together by the murder of a philandering spouse. Disjointed, and some plot threads are left hanging, but there's some fine comic moments and interesting character development, especially Aiello's culinary hitman, Dosmo Pizzo. Theron's Helga adds eye candy. For those too young to remember "Dynasty," you may want to check out the intense cat-fight between Hatcher's Becky Foxx and Helga.

Distribution

HBO, 1100 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, Phone: (212)512-7400, Fax: (212)512-7498, URL: http://www.hbo.com, Remarks: Online sales through www.store.hbo.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 105 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Black Comedy, Contemporary Noir, Hit Men/Women, Anthology, Cops, Sex & Sexuality, L.A.

Screenplay

John Herzfeld

Cast

Danny Aiello, Jeff Daniels, Marsha Mason, Teri Hatcher, Glenne Headly, James Spader, Eric Stoltz, Greg Cruttwell, Peter Horton, Charlize Theron, Keith Carradine, Louise Fletcher, Austin Pendleton, Paul Mazursky, Kathleen Luong

Cinematography

Oliver Wood

Director

John Herzfeld

Music

Anthony Marinelli

Producer

Jeff Wald, Herb Nanas, Keith Samples, Tony Amatullo, Rysher Entertainment, Redemption, MGM Home Entertainment