Middle Men is a film that harkens back to the days when cinema was truly original. It’s a gritty story full of witty dialogue, fast camera work and compelling characters while examining a subject that is both taboo and universal: Internet pornography.
The story is based on the real life story of producer Christopher Mallick, who became entwined in the burgeoning Internet culture and the commerce possibilities that spawned from it in the late ’90s. Directed with the confidence of an established auteur, George Gallo (Trapped in Paradise, Midnight Run) mixes humor and action with a distinctive style and an impressive ensemble cast. To draw the inevitable comparison, Middle Men is the Boogie Nights of internet porn — and that’s a good thing.
Before the World Wide Web, getting access to pornography was a real chore that somewhat invaded your privacy. But with the advent of the Internet, a whole new realm of possibilities unfurled. Buck Dolby (Gabriel Macht) and Wayne Beering (Giovanni Ribisi), two unlikely geniuses troubled with severe drug problems, realize this and use their smarts to a develop a system of accepting credit card payments to pay for porn on the Web.
They then naively partner with a Russian gangster (Rade Serbedzija) with the hopes of using girls at his strip club to further their business venture. That leads them to Jack Harris (Luke Wilson), a business fix-it-up man who, through a connection with a crooked lawyer Jerry Haggerty (James Caan) is put in charge of the internet business.
There are a lot of characters and connections at play, yet Gallo is careful to make every moment count and not leave you confused by the bevy of players who enter the game. Harris takes control of the business and it blossoms into a certified cash cow, leaving him trapped between his loving family and the world of pornography. All this while the Russian mob and the FBI chase after him for their own personal gain. These elements cause Harris’ life to spin into a whirlwind of money, sex and murder, especially when he falls in love with a young porn star (Laura Ramsy).
Middle Men is sure to thrill viewers yearning for a wake-up call amidst the dreary lackluster summer blockbusters. It’s a throwback to the clever, quick and stylish American filmmaking that Scorcese established and Paul Thomas Anderson refined. The characters are genuine and real, partly because they are in fact based on real people.
The acting at times is uneven, but the stand-out performances of Wilson, Ribisi and Caan elevate the film to another level (the cameos are awesome as well). It’s truly a perfect storm of content, character and charisma that make this film as seductive and lurid as the pornography that Harris and company are selling. Andy Weiss (Punk’d), who co-wrote the script with Gallo, brings an almost American Pie-quality humor and sentimentality to Harris’ narration without being over the top or preachy. Middle Men is a quality film in every aspect that educates as much as it entertains.
9 out of 10
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