:
Robert Forster,
Robert Forster,
Donnie Wahlberg,
more...
:
Dan M. Cohen,
Dan M. Cohen
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: 
: Lions Gate
: Comedies, Independent, Quest, Road Movies
: 100 min.
: English
: Spanish
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A veteran salesman is forced to make way for a young drummer and has some improbable adventures along the way in this comedy-drama. Eddie (Robert Forster) has worked for over 30 years as a travelling jewelry salesman, but after he's stricken with a heart attack, he discovers he's no longer eligible for insurance. Given the fact that he routinely travels with a stash of goods worth up to a million dollars, this development means that he's going to have to give up working on the road. Bobby (Donnie Wahlberg) is the young salesman who is first in line to take over Eddie's route. Though Eddie doesn't think much of reckless Bobby, he takes him on the road to show him the ropes. As they spend some time together, Eddie takes a liking to Bobby, who wants to show Eddie his gratitude for teaching him how to sell in the big leagues. Bobby takes him to a combination roadhouse and brothel for an evening's entertainment, but things get sticky when jewel thieves track the two men to the club. Diamond Men also features Bess Armstrong and Jasmine Guy as a pair of working girls Eddie and Bobby meet in the course of their adventures. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Dare I say it... a little gem of a film.
by spazgirl
March 2, 2003 - 9:37 AM PST
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4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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Sometimes those Wayne Huizenga video outposts have some of the best surprises: we have found Elling, My First Mister, and now Diamond Men sitting on the shelves at Schlockbuster just waiting to be discovered, watched, appreciated, and maybe even loved. And I've loved all three (maybe making up for all the time I've spent wandering the aisles, frustrated at the lack of choices and irritated by the non-stop, piped-in ads...) Here's the deal on why I dug Diamond Men:
Robert Forster was amazing as a career traveling diamond salesman having to put up with training a loud, in-your-face, young new sales guy or risk losing his job. At one point, Bess Armstrong's character said something like, "You have a very strong aura of stability around you" and, gosh darn, does he ever. His performance was amazing, and it was a pleasure to watch him evolve throughout the movie. Equally interesting were the changes in Baby Boy Wahlberg's character (who could be more annoying than an ex-Backstreet Boy? and he went from supremely annoying, to understandibly annoying, to kinda sweet in an annoying way, to not all that annoying anymore, and it was plausible - really!) Bess was great - she didn't show up until towards the end, and her presence really warmed up the screen and added wonderful depth to the plot and the feel of the story.
It's a simple little movie, a couple of nice twists are thrown in for fun, and its strongest point is probably its realness - I don't know much about the diamond ring business, but I wouldn't be surprised if everything within is pretty accurate. And the human realness portrayed on the screen, well, you can't beat that.
Just a little note to put things into perspective for some: We watched Road to Perdition Friday night and I watched Diamond Men Saturday morning. I have all but forgotten about the first film (except for its beigey, brownish, grayish tone - the only color in that film was a bottle of ketchup; even the blood was a washed-out '30s drab) and I've been thinking about the latter quite a lot since I dropped it back into the Evil One's return slot. Hopefully, someone else will pick it up and love it, too. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.34)
29 Votes
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