xcoderedx-1 The basic arc of the story had some good elements to it. I enjoyed the exposition and build up. But I was going out of my mind watching Vince Vaughn's character steal the story. 2/3 of the movie is him being extremely annoying. After 10-15 minutes of it I was ready for something else.

MovieAddict2016 "Made" is nothing special. If it were graded as a separate film it would probably have gotten better reviews. However, because it draws immediate comparisons to the hit indie film "Swingers" from 1996, the general consensus drops even lower.However, those comparing the two are missing the point of "Made." It's a separate film. It's not a sequel. Sure, there are a few self-referential moments (such as the scene in the hotel room when Vaughn brings back the girls and is going into the next room and leaves Favreau by himself, awkwardly, with Drea DeMatteo, which is an exact retreat of a scene from the other film) but overall it has an entirely different tone. It's darker, bleaker, less funny and a bit meaner. It's violent, and is about the Mafia, so whatever you think of "Swingers" - abandon your opinions at the door and take this in as a different film. Judge it as it is and not for what it could have been. Because although this isn't a great film it IS different than "Swingers" for the most part, and director Favreau goes for an entirely different approach, which is a good thing in my opinion.The performances are still good - Vaughn doing his crazy-guy routine and Favreau playing the put-upon good guy with a heart of gold.Overall, perhaps not worth a purchase, but maybe a rental.

noralee "Made" has a lot that works well. Best is the buddy relationship between writer/director Jon Favreau, as a well-meaning boxer, and Vince Vaughan as his best friend and verbal and literal sparring partner who just can't let well enough alone. The characters are better than the plot, as they get bogged down in a picaresque trek through a very dark, fictional New York underworld. I lost track of some of the clues in what is in effect a scavenger hunt as they do an errand for Peter Falk's crime boss.Poor Famke Janssen is miscast in an unfortunate role as yet another stripper girlfriend who exists only in Hollywood."Pussy" of "The Sopranos" helped to ground the crime part of the plot, and Sean Combs was adequate.The ending is pleasantly not clichéd.(originally written 7/27/2001)

jax713 Long weekend, so I headed to the video store to finally rent "Swingers" and "Made" which I've seen referenced in lots of movie reviews, professional and otherwise. Sorry, but where's the beef? "Made" is a comedy??? If it is, it's the cutting-cheese/belching type of humor that witless guys sink to when they're on their way to being completely hammered even though those two displays of caveman behavior are mercifully not part of the script. But a lot of other Neanderthal male behavior is. What exactly is funny about the life of a bachelor party stripper who snorts coke in front of her young daughter while cheating on her earnest and loyal boyfriend? What is funny about a drug dealer - a base criminal - who flaunts his dirty money, low-life club connections, uneducated diction, and inability to control his vulgar vocabulary for even five minutes in a nice restaurant? There's nothing funny going on anywhere so I have to presume that the critics who thought this is a comedy also think crotch-scratching in public is something to point out and laugh about.If there is anything resembling a plot or message in this film, it is about friendship, but it was a strain in that regard also because the relationship between Favreau and Vince Vaughn is hard to digest. Like in "Swingers," Favreau is the good guy and Vaughn is his boisterous front man, always pushing him to the limits of tolerance. Favreau is really good at showing how a guy can overlook the shortcomings of his cohorts for the sake of the friendship, but in "Made" I got so fed up with Ricky Slade (Vaughn) I felt like throwing something at the TV. In Swingers, Vaughn meant well, but in "Made" he's just an obnoxious egomaniac who has a block of oak between his ears. But they've been friends since childhood - or so we're led to believe - and that gives them an unbreakable bond the story is built upon. They are willing to trail around after each other from one bad situation to the next, deriving a life simply by hanging out together. I had to work to get this much out of the story.This is the UN-thinking guy's mob movie. It's not smart, not funny, not incisive. The repetitive profanity is a sign that the writer couldn't come up with enough emotional dialogue to fill air space without it. If it was ad-libbed, it was a mistake to allow it. There are many film makers who need to come to the realization that an audience *listening* to a swearing rant between characters is a much different experience than actually *being* one of the characters in that type of exchange. Even if people at this lowest level of society really talk that way, we don't need to hear so much of it to get it. The ending and epilogue make no sense at all, a cop out for something more inventive or, at the least, more realistic.Here's another movie that makes me wonder how those involved got the money to make this film. Who finances this type of drivel? For all its hype, "Swingers" wasn't so hot either. Favreau - who obviously has some potential - is doing film school projects on someone else's dime. So who does Favreau know? One star for his ability to get this 'made.'