Diane Keaton stars in and produces the Warner Bros. mobster comedy Plan B – which is another film that was completed in 2001 finally makes it way to DVD.
Fran’s (Diane Keaton) husband is killed by mob boss Joe Maloni (Paul Sorvino) and his thug Mario (Anthony DeSando) because of his gambling debt. She is not aware that Joe has killed her husband, so she is forced to work for Joe to pay off her husband’s debt. He “hires” her as his accountant.
Fran is a bit of a klutz. She accompanies Joe to a warehouse to get some counterfeit designer clothes and Joe is captured by three thugs. Fran then saves Joe from them, more by accident than by skill (Joe does lose a thumb though). Joe then decides to bump her up in the organization….to a hired killer! Her first assignment is to kill Donny (Maury Chaykin). She either has to kill him or resort to plan B - to pretend she did and take Donny into hiding.
Donny, of course, chooses plan B and she kidnaps him and takes him to Florida to her brother James’ (Bob Balaban) house. She goes back home to quit and leave the country, but Joe wants her to whack Raymond (Joe Ventimiglia). Again she chooses plan B and transports Raymond (tied up in snow chains) to James’ place in Florida.
Donny is developing a bit of a crush on Fran and Raymond sets his sights on James’ sexy neighbor (Natasha Lyonne). Again Fran returns only to be given another guy to whack, Sal (Burt Young). Again, she chooses plan B, but doesn’t bring Sal’s heart medicine and has to call in Dr. Pete (John Rothman). However, Joe starts to get suspicious about her trips to Florida and Fran finds out who bumped off her husband.
Fran arrives at James' house with her first guest
Sorvino is covering familiar ground as a mob boss, but Keaton is far too clumsy and klutzy as Fran and goes way over the top. Although for most of the film she wears a hat that is reminiscent of Annie Hall, it is probably not a good idea to remind the viewer of a better film than the one they are sitting through.
Plan B is not too bad a flick for a rainy day $1 rental, but Keaton might’ve benefited from playing the role “straighter.” The film had several problems that might bug viewers - I find it hard to believe that these goombas are so eager to follow the klutzy Fran’s orders.
Plan B is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features included a commentary by director Greg Yaitanes (recorded in 2005) and 3 minutes of deleted scenes. Another feature is 12 minutes of screen tests. It sounds like Keaton reading lines to the actors, but I’m not sure if it’s her.
There are tests for Anthony DeSando for Mario (He got it), Natasha Lyonne for Kaye (She got it), John Ventimigila for Raymond (He got it), Traci Ann Wolfe for Raymond’s girlfriend (She got it), John Ventimiglia reading for Tommy, Nick Sandow reading for Mario, and Anthony DeSando reading for Tommy.
Joe tells Fran he wants her to whack somebody
Plan B is simply an okay movie. With its cast, the film could have been done better. The film is worth taking a chance on if you are looking for a rental.
Plan B is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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