Pushing Tin (1999)

Pushing Tin is the most realistic movie in the history of movies, and I know it for sure. Billy Bob Thorton is a shaman who has moved to a strange new place - no one knows where it is, it is a mystery - with his wife (in the movie and in real life!) Angelina Jolie. John Cusack is a hot young air traffic controller, his character probably has a dumb nickname or something. Like "Shoop." He's in that other movie where he runs a record shop. He suucks. Anyways, he is afraid of Billy Bob or something, he seems very insecure. They're always making mean faces at each other from afar, and saying one-liners at each other and stuff. They're too wussy to actually fight it out like a couple of bros. The airplanes almost hit each other sometimes, don't panic, it's all good.

Fmovies: People seem to have a love/hate relationship with this film, and it's safe to say that I'm in the latter category.

Pushing Tin is a thoroughly abysmal comedy that squanders its cast of brilliant actors. The story is so pointless and boring that I find I care nothing for any of the characters, which to me is suicide for the movie.

The entire premise seems to be how "hardcore" these two guys can be, and the neverending testosterone struggle between the two to constantly one-up the other guy. Various shots of Cusack running around the flight tower, guiding planes in and making them make all kinds of sudden, unsafe dives, etc. is supposed to leave us rolling on the floor, but instead he comes off as cold and uncaring about the people on the plane who could easily die as a result of his stupidity and is mostly annoying.

Another "hardcore" scene involves Billy Bob Thornton standing on the runway just behind where huge jets are landing. The powerful rush of air that hits the asphalt as the plane comes in throws Thornton through the air like a leaf in a tornado, and the next scene we see is of Thornton's face with a big post-coital smile on it. Stupid and ineffective. A complete waste of great acting talent.

Angelina Jolie appears for a total of about 10 minutes and has about 6 lines in the whole movie.

In summation, this movie should never have been made. It's a complete waste of space. One of the few (but increasing number, lately) that I either turn off halfway through or fall asleep during.

This movie just doesn't deliver. It gets too bogged down all through the middle as Cusack's life comes apart because of his determination to outdo Thornton's character. Also, Thornton's character (although he is the antagonist of the film) is way more interesting than Cusack's character, with whom we get frustrated and just wish he'd get his act together.

The movie does become more amusing towards the end once Cusack finally tries to do something about his sorry state. But too little, too late.

The film also uses the style of super-verite everyone-talk-at-once, which means that you can't hear the lines and it rarely does anything to add to the story. Seemed like the whole first third of the movie was there just to develop the "atmosphere". A number of scenes here and there that don't have any purpose in the story.

The acting's all fine and good, and the NJ/Long Island clothes and decor are fun. I blame the writer, director, and editor for the failure of this flick.

Pushing Tin fmovies. `Pushing Tin' concerns two air traffic controllers. One is Nick Falzone, played by John Cusack, who as the hotshot of his workplace is happily married to one Connie (Cate Blanchett) with two kids. Into his life comes the notorious new air traffic controller Russell (Billy Bob Thornton) with his beautiful wife Mary (Angelina Jolie). The two men do not react well to one another and spates of jealousy and male rivalry, with consequences, ensue..

To it's credit `Pushing Tin' at least has an original setting - I can't recall another movie about air traffic controllers. Of course its merely a premise for male ego bating, a long running plot concept of countless movies. Here the bating takes place in trying to outdo one another in all aspects - work, social esteem and even with one another's wives. This leads us to the comedic events of this comedy. The comedy here is very soft, as the movie has a more comedy/drama mould to it than being ostensibly an all out comedy. Cusack's performance here is quite manic, as he winds himself up trying to outmatch his peer. As usual it's also quite good - Cusack has a great sense of being an actual character rather than an actor portraying a character. He works very well with the material he's given portraying a character that - while not as well drawn as his roles in such movies as `High Fidelity' and `Grosse Point Blank' - is nonetheless flawed, but still worthy. Thornton's character is the laconic counterpoint, laidback about the situation for most of the time but with a sense of energy and vitality brimming beneath. Thornton once again turns in a neat performance, with just enough character embellishments and detail to lift his character from blandness into quasi-life. Unfortunately Blanchett and Jolie - as the objects of affection - can do little with their limited material and serve merely as surfaces for the two leads to bounce off.

The problem with the movie lies in the pacing of the script. Considering the intensity of the job, there's no pressure ever evident in the movie in either the script or direction (courtesy of Mike Newell). Even the manipulation of planes, using some graphics and actual plane shots, lacks any urgency. Thus the comedy tends to amble along to a rather drab finale. The drama elements are adequate and the performances flesh out the characters, but there's not enough originality to make it avid viewing. Therefore you'd expect the comedy elements to balance it out. Alas, while there're some smiles to be had, there's very few laughing aloud moments. Sure the characters neuroses and clashes can create some amusing sparks but they're not frequent enough, nor sharp enough to sustain this movie as a comedy. Thus, overall, the movie is grand and passable but there's nothing to really warrant much of a look in, except to see the works of two strong Hollywood actors. 5/10.

I saw this movie when it was relatively new in theatres, and I STILL don't know what to make of it.

Is it a comedy? A drama? A character study? An excuse to keep Billy Bob Thornton in the public eye?

I may never be able to figure that out. It's not funny, it's not dramatic, and there's not a single character in this movie that I liked by about halfway through the film. They don't WANT you to like these people. They're petty and childish, and rather than mining the humor in that, they mine the agony.

If you're the Coen Brothers, you're intelligent enough to pull this off. If you're Mike Newell, everyone thinks it's a brilliant art film because they didn't understand it.

Not only do I not understand it, I don't understand Mike Newell and I don't understand who this film was supposed to be speaking to. Certainly not anyone seeking entertainment.

Director Mike Newell's `Pushing Tin' is about the turbulent life of air traffic controllers. Its delightful and thought-provoking screenplay is not intended for the usual `airhead' moviegoer. So please put on your thinking cap for this one. The film stars John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, and Angelina Jolie. Thornton and Jolie executed average `plane' performances. However, Cusack and Blanchett rose high with theirs. I do not blame Billy Bob or Angelina for not going up to par with John and Cate. Maybe, Billy Bob and Angelina were way too much in the clouds on and off the set, or maybe it was just that their characters were not fully developed in the script. Even though i am not `Pushing Tin' as one of the best film of 99, it is still one that you should put on the `safe landing looking' section. *** Average