Written by Shel Silverstein and David Mamet, this little comedy followed on the heels of Mamet's darker House of Games. The cast includes several performers from that earlier film, including Mantegna, Bill Macy, Ricky Jay, the late J.T. Walsh, and several other Mamet stand-bys. The story follows a humble shoe-shine man (Ameche) who agrees to take a murder rap and ends up enjoying his last weekend of freedom in Lake Tahoe under the watchful eye of a sentimental mobster (Mantegna). Perhaps the best part is that the movie maneuvers deftly around the usual gangster cliches.

Harold Check