8 Heads in a Duffel Bag Movie Review 1996

Mob bag man Tommy (Pesci, in a real stretch) loses his heads, the evidence of a successful hit, to med student Charlie Pritchett (Comeau), who's headed for a Mexican vacation with his fiance's (Swanson) uptight family. Desperate, Tommy "persuades" Charlie's roommates (Spade and Louiso) to help him find some replacement noggins. Excellent premise is almost done in by a timid script that relies a little too much on slapstick. Schulman's uneven directorial debut does little to mask the problem. Newcomer Comeau tries for a "Bachelor Party" era Tom Hanks thing, but doesn't quite get there. Pesci and Spade save flick from disaster, and get most of the good lines, pitted in a generational "battle of the smart-asses," but neither one strays from their previous screen personas. Louiso hilariously makes the most of his role as the naive roommate.

Distribution

Orion Home Video, MGM, 2500 Broadway, 3515, Santa Monica, CA 90404-3036, Phone: (310)449-3000, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS
Running time 95 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Black Comedy, Renegade Body Parts, Disorganized Crime, Hit Men/Women, Vacations, Mexico, On the Rocks, Terminal Confusion, So I Amuse You?

Screenplay

Tom Schulman

Cast

Joe Pesci, David Spade, Andy Comeau, Kristy Swanson, George Hamilton, Dyan Cannon, Todd Louiso, Frank Roman, Anthony Mangano, Joe Basile, Ernestine Mercer, Howard George

Cinematography

Adam Holender

Director

Tom Schulman

Music

Andrew Gross

Producer

Brad Krevoy, Steve Stabler, John Bertolli, Jeffrey D. Ivers, Orion Pictures