Frogs for Snakes

1998 "They collect for the mob. But they'd rather act. Expect killer performances."
4.3| 1h48m| en| More Info
Released: 14 August 1998 Released
Producted By: Shooting Gallery
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A group of unemployed theater actors survive by working as illegal money collectors. The loan shark they are working for owns an Off-Broadway theater. As he decided to play "American Buffalo" there, a bloody battle for the favorite roles begin.

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Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
NateWatchesCoolMovies They say actors will literally 'kill for a role', and in the long forgotten, bizarre NYC set indie flick Frogs For Snakes, that's the very concept. A handful of Bronx lowlifes all directly involved with criminal kingpin Al Santana (Robbie Coltrane, before he went all Hagrid on us), discover he is putting on a play, and promptly begin to literally murder each other for parts. Now, such a premise should provide a downright brilliant film, but sadly that's not the case with this dreary gutterball. The possibilities are just endless, and all these miscreants do is just languish in alleyways, decrepit apartments and dive bars, monologuing about.. nothing much at all. It hurts when you have a cast this good in such fuckery as well. Al's ex wife (Barbara Hershey) works as a debt collector for him, while she pines for her thespian boyfriend (John Leguizamo) who spends the majority of his scenes reciting overblown monologues that have nothing to do with the story, or lack thereof. There's all manner of creeps and hoodlums running about like New York sewer rats, played by an impressive lineup including Harry Hamlin, Lisa Marie, Ian Hart, Clarence Williams III, Nick Chinlund and briefly Ron Perlman, but none of them have much to do and seem to aimlessly shamble through their scenes as if they were never given much of a script. Being the weirdo that I am though, I did get a sick thrill out of hearing potty mouthed Debi Mazar explicitly describe giving a blowjob to Coltrane's character, a mental image I won't soon erase from my head. It's a whole lot of nothing for the most part though, and kinda makes you wonder how the thing ever got green-lit, let alone attracted such talent. If the film itself were a play, it would be run out of town on opening night.
antcol8 There is almost no reason for me to write. Many of you have done the job for me. But I take the misuse and co-option of a "Downtown" NY vibe in this movie as a personal affront. Amos Poe has some kind of Alt -street cred, although now I can't remember for what. Something to do with Debbie Harry. But he (on the basis of this film) is not an artist, not an entertainer, not a good post-modernist, not very smart! As many have pointed out, he knows how to quote from much better things. And he knows how to cast weirdly iconic actors and use interesting East Village locations. But the killing scenes are excessive, the acting scenes are unconvincing. And neither illuminates the other. Jim Jarmusch, forgive me! Any doubts I have had about your genius have been erased by this slop. I understand now (I already liked it a lot) what a massive achievement Ghost Dog is. You have quoted Godard, but added something to our understanding, as Godard did with such as Fuller and Ray. This guy, on the other hand belongs in the Press area of a European Blondie Reunion concert, holding a Poloroid camera. He totally wasted my time with his smarmy, hipper-than-thou bullshit. Lisa Marie is hot though.
minnow-6 "Frogs for Snakes" **1/2 "FFS" is a hard movie to describe. There is this group of actors in NYC. They work together. They know one another. At various times in their lives they "love" one another. And they compete for the same parts in off-off-off Broadway plays. The owner of the theater, where they most often act and compete for parts, is run by Al. Al is a gangster and he employs these actors to make collections for him. To this point in the description of the movie it sounds like a kind of slice-of-life type story. But, "FFS" slips back and forth between the actors, Al and their day-to-day lives and killing one another. If one of them thinks someone might have a leg up on them for a part in a play, they kill rather than compete. And, after a kill the remaining players might slip right back into a dialogue that makes the killing seem like just another day at the office. Entwined in all the dialogue are these really interesting scenes, played out by the characters, from movies and stage plays. My favorite was a tryout where one of the actresses is doing Harry Lime. "FFS" is a cross between "Pulp Fiction" and "Living in Oblivion." I won't go so far as to recommend this movie but I will say I was fascinated by "FFS."
JustMe-8 I found "Frogs for Snakes" poorly done and if at all, badly researched.Early in the film one of the characters mentions that her boyfriend was sentenced to prison for 4 years, until 1969. A bit later she talks about the 69 Corvette he bought her. A remarkable feat -- getting a 69 car in 65.Still later, the term "dissed" is used, a term that didn't come into being until the mid 90's.Still later, characters used cell phones, which certainly didn't exist in the mid 60's.Just a bad film overall.