Mr-Fusion "2 Days in the Valley" feels like one of those '90s movies that walks in the footsteps of "Pulp Fiction" (cosmic coincidences, lives interweaving, all happening in L.A.) . . . "Go" has also been compared to Tarantino's movie, but that was at least darkly comic about it."Valley" never reaches the heights of those movies, even with such a large cast and an advertised catfight between Teri Hatcher and Charlize Theron. It's not funny and there's never really a payoff. Characters learn lessons about life, but that's where the movie gets syrupy. It's like a fantasyland version of Southern California.But a dull fantasy.5/10

smatysia Since this film came out only two years later, it is hard to imagine that the phrase "pulp fiction" did not come up at the pitch meeting. But I thought that this movie was pretty good and can stand on its own despite the similarities, mainly the weaving together of disparate characters by events. It does run chronologically, unlike PF. It has an amazing cast, with two Oscars, and another five nominations among them. (Although some of these did come afterwards) Kudos for great performances by Danny Aiello, Eric Stoltz, Glenne Headly, Marsha Mason, Terry Hatcher, Charlize Theron, and in a smaller role, Ada Maris. Nice unobtrusive direction by John Herzfeld, who also has a writing credit. Worth checking out.

davidjanuzbrown I was answering a question about this film, which got me thinking about it, and I decided to write a review about it. In my opinion, this film is a crime classic, and I cannot believe "2 Days In The Valley" (TDINV) is not better known. If you look at the cast you will understand why. It starts with Lee Woods (James Spader), a super cool robotic hit man, and his partner Helga Svelgen (Charlize Theron), who is an ice cold evil blonde. They are hired to kill the husband of Becky Foxx (Teri Hatcher), so she can be on the US Olympic Team. They are promised $30,000 which is in the house to do so. Assisting them is hit man Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello), who turns against them, when they set him up to be the fall guy. Spoilers ahead: Helga, gets killed by Becky after a nasty cat fight (She had it coming to her). Meanwhile, Dosmo ends up meeting Susan (Glenn Headley), who is constantly abused by her snobbish boss Allen Hopper (Greg Cruttwell), and treated worse than his dog. In my favorite scene, Dosmo discovers Susan is Italian (Something in six years, Greg never learned about her because he took no interest in her as a human being), and he cooks a meal (As he is holding them hostage), and has her sit at the table with him, while he eats on the floor with his dog. Other key characters are washed screenwriter Teddy Peppers (Paul Mazursky) who wanted to commit suicide after he found someone to take care of his dog, Nurse Audrey (Marsha Mason), and Detectives Strayer (Jeff Daniels) and Taylor (Eric Stolz).Spoilers: In the end, Lee ends up shooting Taylor, and Dosmo tries to rescue him, but cannot defeat Lee, and both will be killed, except Teddy shoots Lee dead. That action, enables him to get his confidence back and be able to start over with Audrey (Marsha Mason). One other point, about Peppers, you see in the final scene with Audrey, that he is very different than before, and will not only get a reward from the City for saving Taylor, but since he is in screenwriter, he can tell a story (leaving Dosmo & Susan out of course), that could get him a huge advance. Think about it: A Hollywood writer saves a cop, Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal and all the rest would bid on that. I would figure, that should be worth six figures to him. Dosmo and Susan end up with the $30,000 and will go to New York to open a pizza shop (Taylor lets him have it, because he was willing to take a bullet for him (Essentially the hit man turns good guy because of his conscious)). A key theme of the film is second chances for people who were essentially washed up: Dosmo, Susan, Teddy, Taylor (He would have been dead except for Dosmo & Teddy), Becky (Who gets away with it), and last, but not least, Strayer who is abusive cop, who almost shoots a black guy (Due to his temper) and wants to commit suicide, but because of thinking about his daughter does not (He gets a letter telling him to turn in his Badge, for psychological reasons, but although unhappy, at least he tolerates it, and has a chance to get his act cleaned up (Based on the theme of the film, he does). Basically a crime classic 10/10 stars.

kenjha Several plot lines involving a multitude of characters eventually come together in this quirky comedy. The cast is awesome, with almost every character played by a familiar face. Despite such a collection of stars, however, the film never really takes off. The main problem is the uneven script that tries to balance too many plot threads and too many characters. Also, although it has its moments, the comedy is not funny enough. Herzfeld, who has mostly worked in TV, is in over his head here on both the writing and directorial fronts. In her first screen credit, Theron is an alluring bad girl and engages in a cat fight with Hatcher!