Made (2001) * * *

 

Directed by:  Jon Favreau   

Starring:  Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Sean Combs, Peter Falk, Famke Janssen, Mackenzie Vega, Vincent Pastore, Paddy Considine

The poster says it all.  Made is a study of opposites who are longtime friends and sent on what sounds like a simple mission to New York which goes kablooey on them.   Things actually went kablooey in Los Angeles first, and crime boss Max (Falk) sends the buddies to New York to redeem themselves after Bobby (Favreau), acting as "manager" for his stripper girlfriend Jess (Janssen), beats up on clients at a party who get too friendly with her.   Bobby hits a guy he shouldn't be hitting, forcing Max to pay $8,000 in damages, and sending Bobby and his best friend Ricky (Vaughn) to New York to perform a cash transaction with an associate named Ruiz (Combs), which isn't nearly as simple as it sounds.

Bobby is quiet, thoughtful, and wants only to do his job and go home.   Motormouth Ricky sees the opportunity to fly first class and enjoy the New York nightlife.   Ricky acts like a man who learned all of these cool catchphrases watching television and is ecstatic that he gets to use them in front of Ruiz, who at times looks at these two as aliens.   Bobby and Ricky spend a lot of time bickering because of their differing approaches to the task at hand.   Bobby plays it cool, Ricky can't read a room and learn when to shut up.  One senses this the most fun Ricky has had in years.  

Both Bobby and Ricky are likable as the differing friends who we know will be there for each other when the chips are down.   They can't trust anyone else, and Bobby especially can't trust Jess, who is falling dangerously into her cocaine habit again while neglecting her daughter Chloe (Vega), who Bobby adores and feels deserves a better fate than to have Jess as her mother.  How that situation resolves itself is among the treasures of Made, which is quiet study of a mismatched pair looking for a way out of the life they've put themselves in.   Favreau, who also wrote and directed Made, would go on to direct Iron Man and Iron Man 2 and launch the Marvel Universe, but movies like Made and Chef showcase his ability to write and direct with a gentle, mannered hand.   Other directors and writers may go over the top with the crime elements of Made, but Favreau plays it steady and smart.  Like Bobby himself.