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Thursday February 1, 2001

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Ritchie's 'Snatch' is stylish, uproariously funny

Headline Photo

Photo courtesy of Screen Gems.

Business partners and boxing promoters Turkish (Jason Statham, left) and Tommy (Stephen Graham, center) make a bet with gypsy boxer Mikey O'Neil (Brad Pitt, right) in the gangster comedy "Snatch." The film is in theaters now.

By Graig Uhlin

Arizona Daily Wildcat

British gangster comedy little more than repeat of director's first film

Writer-director Guy Ritchie, a.k.a. Mr. Madonna, is caught in a time warp. He thinks it's 1998.

That was the release year of his debut film, the hopelessly long-titled "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels." The film, a visually stunning and visceral gangster tale set in the London underground, announced a major new directorial talent. Ritchie had a singular style, with his sly use of slow and fast motion, his unforgettable character sketches and his complex narratives. Audiences everywhere agreed: a film like "Lock, Stock" only comes once.

Unless, of course, it comes twice.

Ritchie, with his second film, the suggestively titled "Snatch," has created a virtual carbon copy of his first movie, only without the long title.

"Snatch" is about the same ensemble of gangsters and thieves from the London underground, with several actors from the first film making return appearances in "new" roles. The plot is likewise complex, as it plays with a fragmented timeline. The camera work, while it shows some maturation since "Lock, Stock," is the same old trickery Ritchie has used before.

Ritchie is trying to create a directorial trademark. When "a Guy Ritchie film" scrolls across the screen before the movie begins, he wants audiences to know what to expect.

This is all well and good for his legacy as a director and for his ability to snugly fit in the crime film genre of a film school curriculum. But as for presenting the public with compelling new material, Ritchie leaves filmgoers wanting.

Here's the beauty of it all though: besides all the redundancy, "Snatch" is a thoroughly enjoyable film, one so engaging and funny that viewers can simply shake off that eerie feeling of deja vu.

The plot of "Snatch" is, not surprisingly, hopelessly complex - not to the point of confusion, mind you, but don't expect Adam Sandler-like simplicity. Ritchie is fond of taking as many characters as possible, each with their own personal and usually contradictory agendas, and throwing them at each other, and no one knows who's going to come out alive.

There are frequent double-crossings and double-dealings, and even more coincidental circumstances, but Ritchie has an uncanny ability to avoid seeming contrived. In fact, there is an almost childish glee in the unpredictability of his narratives. There is always the lingering feeling that once you've figured out where the hell he might be going with all these plot twists, he throws in another.

To put it in terms Ritchie's characters might relate to: there are no less than a dozen boxers in the ring, your mortgage is riding on the outcome and you have no idea who's been paid to take a fall. It's complete and utter chaos - and so damn fun to watch.

Honestly, though, the charm of Ritchie's films lies not in his (obligatory reference just ahead) Tarantino-esque plot devices, but instead in his well-drawn characters. The men of his movies - because they are basically all men - are either hyper-capable tough guys or, well, morons, and the interaction between the two produces some memorable comic moments, especially since there is no guarantee that the moron will lose.

A standout among the ensemble cast is Brad Pitt, who plays Mickey O'Neil, a gypsy boxer. Lambasted in previous years for his accents in other projects, Pitt goes overboard this time out, speaking in a delightfully incoherent gypsy drawl.

In fact, "Snatch" as a whole is a lot like Pitt's accent - uproariously funny, at times completely incomprehensible, but always compelling.