Darrell is a club DJ who agrees to do a private gig for the birthday of mobster Frank's daughter. Of course there no way that Darrell could have foreseen that there would be a hit on Frank at that point, but that is what happens and Darrell's quick actions saves Frank's life. Frank needs more protection for his family but finds that his daughter is not too keen on the idea of having a fat Italian bodyguard accompany her to yoga class and lunch with the girls. Dolly picks Darrell as her guard, who accepts the job. With the ever present threat of attack, Darrell focuses on protecting Dolly, but neither of them thought that they also needed to protect their hearts.
It should have warned me when this film had its UK terrestrial premier in the wee small hours of a weeknight, but I dipped into it anyway. Others have already slated this saying how terrible it is but I will say that if you watch it from a distance it does look professional enough and it is clear that money has been spent putting it all together. The problems begin far below the surface though, in particular the material. What we have is an uneasy mix of genres with gangster, music, comedy, forbidden love and action but none of it functions either together or individually. So the overall sweep just doesn't flow and is the cinematic equivalent of a socially awkward man trying to fit in at a party but never once looking comfortable or like he belongs. The plot just doesn't work and while a mafia plot is on the back shelf we get Darrell flirting with girls, going to yoga, meeting the family etc. It is all clunky stuff ad is as dull as it is pained.
The cast are a mix of those that should know better and those who probably couldn't have done more with a better film. Raymond is good at what he does but "what he does" should not include acting. He is in this for his name to market it to his fans but otherwise he is a wooden presence without any screen presence charisma or delivery. Palminteri plays a good sport but like Davi and a few others he should not be in this dreck. Chriqui is pretty but that is where it ends here. The script makes them all look good though by handing a terrible "w*gger" character to Fazio, who makes it as embarrassing and horrible as it was on paper. It is not an actor's film and it was a mess long before they turned up on set.
In the Mix is a poor star vehicle that thinks consistency just means having the same people on the screen for the whole film. The tone and style is all over the place and none of it works, feeling uncomfortable and unnatural throughout. If you're an Usher fan then don't bother listen to an album instead, everyone else without this hook should know to avoid.
It should have warned me when this film had its UK terrestrial premier in the wee small hours of a weeknight, but I dipped into it anyway. Others have already slated this saying how terrible it is but I will say that if you watch it from a distance it does look professional enough and it is clear that money has been spent putting it all together. The problems begin far below the surface though, in particular the material. What we have is an uneasy mix of genres with gangster, music, comedy, forbidden love and action but none of it functions either together or individually. So the overall sweep just doesn't flow and is the cinematic equivalent of a socially awkward man trying to fit in at a party but never once looking comfortable or like he belongs. The plot just doesn't work and while a mafia plot is on the back shelf we get Darrell flirting with girls, going to yoga, meeting the family etc. It is all clunky stuff ad is as dull as it is pained.
The cast are a mix of those that should know better and those who probably couldn't have done more with a better film. Raymond is good at what he does but "what he does" should not include acting. He is in this for his name to market it to his fans but otherwise he is a wooden presence without any screen presence charisma or delivery. Palminteri plays a good sport but like Davi and a few others he should not be in this dreck. Chriqui is pretty but that is where it ends here. The script makes them all look good though by handing a terrible "w*gger" character to Fazio, who makes it as embarrassing and horrible as it was on paper. It is not an actor's film and it was a mess long before they turned up on set.
In the Mix is a poor star vehicle that thinks consistency just means having the same people on the screen for the whole film. The tone and style is all over the place and none of it works, feeling uncomfortable and unnatural throughout. If you're an Usher fan then don't bother listen to an album instead, everyone else without this hook should know to avoid.