Pups (1999)

What do you get when a couple of 13-year-olds replay Dog Day Afternoon? The title is a clever pun on the film's inspirations (there's also a little of Reservoir Dogs rattling around the back of the picture), but it's neither a comedy nor a gritty thriller. Young Stevie (Cameron Van Hoy), bored and starved for attention (his mother has left him home alone while she's off at some New Age retreat), decides to skip school and rob a bank with his reluctant but loyal best friend-girlfriend, Rocky (Mischa Barton). Within minutes they're surrounded by cops and calling for pizzas and MTV (a sly, smarmy cameo by MTV reporter Kurt Loder) through tired FBI hostage negotiator Burt Reynolds. It's like some video game fantasy come to life, and the growing media circus gives these heretofore neglected kids their 15 minutes of fame and a sudden (if fleeting) power. Writer-director Ash (Bang) doesn't quite pull it all together, and it drags some at 100 minutes, but the meandering narrative mirrors the hairpin emotional turns of the kids while Ash's handheld camerawork and long unbroken shots capture the chaos of the situation with easy understatement. The kids are sharply drawn and startlingly refreshing, a testament to Ash's savvy writing and direction and to the skills of Van Hoy and Barton. It's a smartly made film, subtly satirical, pleasantly unexplained by any confessional motivations, and happily free of moralizing. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Not about a bank robery

A great movie.
It's not about a bank robery you retards!

Ho hum...just watch it. October 2, 2005

This movie rocks

Pups is an entertaining and what i found thrilling movie. Newcomer Cameron Van Hoy does an excellent job as the very troubled Stevie, who has been left at home by his mother who is at a seminar (?) somewhere. When he stumbles upon his mothers loaded gun he brings his girlfriend Rocky (Mischa Barton) on a crazy ride. On impulse Stevie walks into a bank and starts waving the gun around. Soon we have a hostage situation and there are cops buzzing around everywhere. Burt Reynolds does a fine job as the reasoning FBI agent. This movie is not a classic but it does have some very good moments/scenes and overall it definatly isnt bad. The constant screaming of Stevie gets a little tedious but all adds to the effect of the panic one would be feeling in such a situation. I think Mischa Barton is great in this movie, Im a huge fan of hers. The ending is sad and my mouth dropped open in shock, call me an idiot but i wasnt expecting that! Rent this movie if you're bored one day, it makes for fine viewing. November 22, 2004

Amazing movie, definitely worth a look

Some people are probably put off by this movie, since most people seem to prefer the fairy-tale world a lot of films create. You won't see any of that in "Pups". What's really unique about this film is it's similarity to reality; it gives the film an almost documentary-like feel, without taking away the emotional aspects. You can really feel for the characters-- whether you love them or hate them, this movie definitely inspires emotion. I would recommend "Pups" to anyone who isn't offended easily and who doesn't mind a movie that requires you to actually use your brain a little. July 30, 2003

No words could describe how terrible this movie is.

I was 14 years old when I saw this movie, and it was about the same age as the two main characters. Basically what it's about is two kids rob a bank wow very exciting. ''Stevie'' finds a hand gun and with his girlfriend Rocky they rob a bank. The two 13 year olds go into a bank with a hand gun and force everyone to the floor and so on, nothing new you've seen it all before. What gets to me about this movie is that all they had to do was tackle this kid and take the gun away. The acting (stunk) and I can't believe Burt would do this movie. Now this movie is great....for laughs. They try and be dramatic but it's really a comendy to me. The ending was so cheezy they tried to make it a tear-jerker and it worked I cried! I cried because I was laughing so hard. This should be the voted the worst movie of all time but at the same time it should be voted the FUNNIEST movie of all time! August 23, 2002

Stay Away

One of the worst, if not the worst movie ever. There are so many things wrong with this movie, it's almost funny. The two teenage bankrobbers are never developed as sympathetic characters. Instead we are given a crowd and MTV's Kurt Loder that act sympathetic toward them and we're supposed to be sympathetic too. One problem--we hate them. I found myself cheering when the boy got shot in the end.
Part of this disaffection is the result of the agonizing pacing of this movie--it begins to seem as though you are watching the same scene over and over and over as the boy yet again gets mad and waves the gun or they yet again show home movies of him at his birthday party. zzzzzz
Part of it is also the acting. The boy plays his part believably (although again, he simply does the same things over and over and over). Mischa Barton, the more experienced of the two actors, does a terrible job. I haven't seen lines so forced and phony sounding since young Anakin in The Phantom Menace.
Then there's the believability problem. I'm sure the FBI would just let two surrendering and supposedly unarmed bankrobbers calmly walk out of the bank, stroll down the street and address their adoring fans. No...don't think so...they would've been cuffed and stuffed the second they cleared the door.
All in all this movie is only bearable if you watch it on fast forward. July 31, 2002

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