Partners (2000)

Handcuffs and hairpins...

Partners, is a low budget, comedy adventure, that features the odd pairing of Casper Van Dien, with David Paymer. Van Dien is "Axel", a drifting pickpocket and petty thief. Paymer is "Bob", a man who has had enough, and won't take it any more. To prevent his employer from stealing software he developed, Bob has abandoned his wife, and run off, with the program in a briefcase chained to his wrist. He is on board a bus bound for LA, when the opportunistic Axel, lifts the case. Soon the two men are "partners" in the scheme to sell the valuable contents.

After procuring a car, the two set off for LA. There, with the help of Bob's beautiful Japanese girlfriend "Lin" (Seiko Matsuda), they plan to sell the stolen goods to an Asian buyer. After hitting town, they settle in at a motel, and begin to make their moves, doubling the selling price for the goods, at the meeting with the Asians. Axel renews ties with his estranged girlfriend, "Angel" (Vanessa Angel), and leaves the valuable briefcase with her for "safekeeping". A detective (Jennifer Lewis) is also hot on Bob's trail, determined to recover the missing software. With millions at stake, the players scamper to recover the briefcase, arrange an exchange, and then double cross and kill each other. The open-ended finish is interesting, and Bob does prove that he is not a total nerd.

Not great by any means, Joey Travolta's production is on par with a made for TV movie. The comedy isn't "laugh out loud", and the acting won't win any awards, but Partners is still entertaining, as the offbeat Van Dien/Paymer pairing, works just well enough. There is brief nudity, but not of the "angelic" variety. This little adventure, with some light comedy thrown in, is worth at least rental consideration. This feature does not have subtitles. August 13, 2002

Unexpectedly good

This movie could have been awful. Some things about it are, kind of - some of the acting is wobbly, some of the pacing is a little slow. But it's unexpectedly funny, with a great starring role for David Paymer (a brilliant actor who's spent his entire career playing sidekicks and minor characters). There's some real chemistry between him and Casper van D., and the script is genuinely clever. Starts out very amusingly, and about thirty twists, turns and reverses later, it ends with a final reverse I did NOT see coming. Not art, but a great guilty pleasure. Compared to your average straight-to-video feature: way more intelligent character interaction, way less of the usual by-the-numbers, been-there-done-that kind of thing. Take a chance, it's cheap. April 22, 2002

Casper does it again

Ever since Starship Troopers, this hot guy still seems to manage a good movie here and there. This is fortunately one of those unexpected good movies. In an action/comedy, Mr Van Dien seems to adjust to his role as a drifter quite well, opposite his on-screen partner. He drops his pants again for the camera, reminiscent of Starship Troopers, so girls and guys can drool once again. But aside from the eye candy (including Casper in jeans a tight singlet throughout - costume department must have had fun), the script is also very funny and enjoyable, for a reasonably lower budget movie. At the end of the day, Partners will not win any major academy awards, but is enjoyable movie around 85 mins. January 11, 2002

Partner's makes for reasonable viewing

Action-man Casper Van Dien and Comedy-man Casper Van Dien team up for this moderately funny comedy-adventure, directed by Joey Travolta (yep, that's John's Brother).
Bob (Paymer) is a confused man. The one thing he has going for him is a computer program that he plans to sell to the highest bidder. Before he can even get to the buyer though, a street smart drifter (Van Dien) knocks it off - only to discover that he's not going to get pay dirt without Bob. They team up.
Unbeknown to Bob, the 'potential girlfriend' who has helped him find a buyer for his computer program doesn't exactly half his best interests at heart; the same goes for Van Dien's character's girlfriend, whose one-tracked mind revolved around the green stuff.
Plenty of double crossing, madcap moments and cheesy one-liners in this surprisingly chuckle-worthy film. October 23, 2001

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