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When hustling flicks like Pride and Glory to the general movie going public studio execs and promo companies plaster television commercials with such descriptive terms as "gritty", "explosive", "brilliant", "knock down drag out" and "cop thriller". And, with a cast made up of Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and John Voight I would expect nothing less of a police drama set against the cold and harsh backdrop of New York City.
With Pride and Glory what the viewer ends up getting is a rehashed plot, racist undertones, a phantom Irish accent and so many side stories the movie itself is probably wondering where it is going half of the time. Pride and Glory was as uncomfortable as it was predictable and disappointing.
Here are my complaints:
 The Plot - As a writer, my advice to you is simple; if you are going to steal a plot, please do yourself and the movie going public a favor and steal a plot from a movie that wasn't made two years ago. Do your homework and steal a plot from a movie made thirty years ago. Assume for just a moment that your audience is older than the age of 18 so they will remember R rated films from just a few years back. The plot of Pride and Glory was such an outrageous act of plagiarism on We Own the Night that I half expected Mark Wahlberg to seamlessly step into Ed Norton's shoes just after bitch slapping the poor guy onto the set of Hulk 35 or whatever crap movie he is making right now. Brothers on the police force working opposite sides of the law is nothing new and certainly isn't ground breaking. A father overseeing his young son's as their commanding officer provides a level of drama that is so tired that Jon Voight looked exhausted playing the role. Irish cops in New York City fighting corruption and drug dealers while dealing with alcoholism and carb loaded dinners is so old the plot line should have its own genre in film. Lastly, what is up with the underlying racism in this film? Why are all drug dealers black or Puerto Rican/Spanish? Why are the top cops all Irish? Why are the dumb cops Italian and Puerto Rican? Why do all cops drink in bars with names like Irish Eyes (really???)? Why are dirty cops always working in New York, L.A. or Chicago? Have some originality. Please. And, why in the hell would Ed Norton arrest someone and then walk that person several blocks in New York during a riot? That is just flat out stupid. Don't make your film fit your ending. Make your ending fit your vision and your film you schmuck. Lastly, don't insert plot lines into your film that have no bearing on the film what so ever. If you introduce a married couple stuggling with cancer and the eventual death of the mother, make that plot line mean something. Don't just flash on random scenes of a bald woman crying next to her children as she watches them sleep. Why do I care?
The Acting: Let's break this one down by lead roles, shall we....
Ed Norton - As far as this single dad is concerned Ed Norton could read an Eight grade Science book and make that crap sound interesting. The caliber of his performances in movies like American History X, 25th Hour, Rounders and Fight Club made Ed Norton one of the most respected actors of his time. Then this cat just up and disappeared only to show up in ridiculous movies like Down in the Valley, The Illusionist and The Incredible Hulk. What the hell kind of career path is that? I know Selma broke your heart, but you need to just relish in the fact that you were able to pull a chick that hot and move on.
Look, I get Hulk. I do. A big budget, studio flick with an even bigger paycheck and points on DVD sales, merchandising and the opportunity to grope Liv Tyler is hard to pass up. But, that being said, follow that CGI infested crap up with something of substance or at least a movie that flat out kicks ass. Playing an Irish cop in NYC who has no accent and seemingly doesn't fit into the "cop" landscape, airmails in his performance and looks as though he hasn't eaten solid food in several months just isn't going to bring the type of work you need. You should have passed on this crappy script my man. I hope you invested that Hulk cash well.
Colin Farrell - Outside of The Recruit and Miami Vice there is no way I can say I have been impressed with Colin Farrell's work. I am sure there a plenty of reviewers who will say Colin's performance in Alexander established him as a true thespian, but I will respectfully call bullshit on that one. Colin Farrell has Christian Slater's attitude mixed in with Johnny Depp's adversity to social settings coupled with Keanu Reeve's hair and Tom Brady's love for all things Super when it comes to models. Farrell should have been in the original Brat Pack. Colin Farrell uses his brooding looks and his ability to dress like a homeless person as a means to be perceived as introspective, deep, complicated and on and on and on with tons of other crap.
In Pride and Glory Colin Farrell plays a dirty cop with a drinking problem and an Irish accent that seems to come and go with the "heaviness" of the scene. During scenes in the movie where Farrell is having a normal conversation his accent is dead on. During those scenes where Farrell is required to scream or create hostile emotion his accent simply vanishes. This is something I find hilarious, ridiculous and perplexing. If you are a Colin Farrell fan (idiot) you can check out his language skills in a really crappy movie entitled In Brughes. I won't go into the stupid plot or how freaking boring that movie is, but I will say Farrell's accent was dead on and stayed with him the entire movie. Colin Farrell plays a great Irish cop. There is no doubt about that. However in Pride and Glory I am sure once Colin realized the ride he was on wasn't going to end well he started phoning in his performances just to get the experience over with.
Jon Voight - Here's what I will ask Jon Voight...did you really need the check that bad? In movies like Runaway Train, Heat, Convict Cowboy, Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy and Catch 22 Jon Voight served notice that he was not only an iconic actor, but he was also a true badass in every John Wayne and Clint Eastwood sense of the word. His performance in Pride and Glory was as tired as he looked. I am not sure if Jon was going for the pre-alzheimer's, half drunk and purely exhausted character portrayal or not, but if he was his performance in Pride and Glory nailed it.
Throughout the entire movie I kept waiting for Brian Dennehey to step onto the screen and say, "Hey bro, the alcoholic, Irish cop, father of boys who are also cops is my role for life. Step aside and watch me do what I do." Jon Voight had about as much right being in this film as he did Baby Geniuses, Anaconda, Second String and Zoolander. However, I could never truly be mad at my man Jon as he is part of the reason Angelina Jolie is alive and sexing the hell out of the big screen.
Pride and Glory showed a ton of promise in its TV commercials only to under deliver. Sort of like ordering a beautiful blond prostitute on Craigslist only to wind up opening your door and finding an overweight, heroin addict and her gang banger boyfriend standing on your porch holding empty pillow cases just waiting to be filled up with all of your worldly possessions.
Save your $10 and go rent Narc. You will be glad you did.
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