Review of Coldblooded

"Coldblooded" is a genuine surprise. It's one of the funniest black comedy's I've seen, and the credit almost entirely belongs to the right-on , deadpan performance of Jason Priestly. Priestly plays Cosmo, an almost catatonic bookie, perfectly happy with is lowlife position, until a "management change" forces his to be "promoted" to hit-man. I say, "almost entirely," because the other great performance in this movie belongs to Peter Riegert, who plays the burned-out hit-man who trains Priestly. Their scenes together are the best in the movie, though there are several brilliant others, such as:

WARNING: SPOILER

Priestley's conversation with Michael J. Fox and his wife. Priestley's conversation with his girlfriend's ex boyfriend. Priestley's confession to his girlfriend about his occupation. Priestely's final conversation with his girlfriend.

None of these scenes could have worked without clever writing and none of them could have worked without Priestley, in an Oscar-worthy performance. This one's playing SUNDANCE in letter-box. Grab it while you can, because who knows when it will make it to DVD.\

Priestley's character most certainly was the inspiration for Bruce Willis' "Jimmie the Tulip" in "The Whole Nine Yards". If you liked that movie, you'll most certainly like "Coldblooded".

I give "Coldblooded" an "8".

I