If there's anything worse for a filmmaker than flopping the first time out, it's flopping after making a particularly splashy debut.
However, the movie industry is filled with dozens of examples of filmmakers who have done exactly that — the latest of which is actor Jon Favreau, who made his screenwriting debut with 1998's "Swingers" — a film that's gone on to become a cult favorite.
In addition to handling the writing duties again, Favreau has stepped behind the camera for "Made." But this extremely disappointing dark comedy-drama is every bit as mean-spirited and crude as "Swingers" was sweet-natured and charming. And what's worse, the idea behind the movie — yet another mob movie — is so stale that it probably couldn't have overcome that initial blemish anyway.
If his writing and directing duties weren't enough, Favreau also stars as Bobby, an aspiring boxer and hopeful "made man," working a series of dead-end jobs — including acting as chauffeur and bodyguard to his stripper girlfriend (Famke Janssen).
So needless to say, Bobby is excited to get a job offer from lower-tier mobster Max (the severely underused Peter Falk), who wants him to leave Hollywood and head to New York to oversee some money-laundering operations.
Unfortunately, Bobby is accompanied by his best friend, motor-mouthed Ricky (Vince Vaughn, re-teaming with his "Swingers" co-star), who's more interested in partying than doing the job.
Their contact in New York is a gangster (musician Sean "Puffy" Combs), who immediately distrusts these two amateurs, and their chauffeur (Vincent Pastore, from cable television's "The Sopranos") is a shady character who may have been sent to kill them.
As a director, Favreau has trouble maintaining a consistent tone — in particular, there are a couple of supposedly comic scenes that are played way too seriously for their own good.
And even though the film was shot by veteran cinematographer Christopher Doyle (a frequent collaborator of Wong Kar-Wai), it looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget (which it probably was — but the film still looks ridiculously chintzy).
On the plus side, Favreau still makes a likable lead, though why his character saddles himself with the extremely irritating Ricky is anyone's guess (Vaughn does perhaps too effective of a job in that aspect of his performance).
"Made" is rated R for frequent use of strong profanity, violence (both boxing and gunplay), simulated drug use (marijuana and cocaine), use of crude sexual slang terms and racial epithets, and brief partial female nudity. Running time: 94 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com