Even though it has a cast full of well known actors (Luke Wilson, James Caan, Giovanni Ribisi, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Pollack, Terry Crews), Middle Men flew under the radar when it was released to theaters in August and subsequently bombed at the box office. While it's not a great movie in any sense, Middle Men is a ok film that deserves to find a new audience on home video.
The story centers on Jack Harris (Wilson), a straight-arrow family man with a gift for negotiation who in 1995 built up the first online billing service to deal exclusively with adult entertainment. He gets some help from a couple of guys who have a love of porn but no actual business sense (Ribisi and Gabriel Macht), a shady lawyer (Caan), and the Russian Mob. Although the money is very good, there are a lot of outside influences at play in the world of high dollar pornography and not everything goes according to plan.
There's a lot to like about Middle Men. The story is interesting and can swing from very comical to very dark and dangerous in a moments notice without feeling too awkward (though the comedy side does work better than the heavy dramatic stuff). The cast turns in some pretty good performances as well. Wilson has played the everyman role very well throughout his career and his work here gives the movie a grounded center that is needed with Ribisi and Caan (who is one of the weak spots) specifically, playing over the top characters.
While there are a lot of positives in Middle Men, it is by no means a great film. There's a lot going on and a large number of side plots that director George Gallo has a hard time balancing. Too often Gallo will try to get overly fancy with his direction and editing instead of focusing on the story. The movie has an muddled feeling to a lot of it and it hinders the enjoyment of what could be a good film.
The blu-ray features a good but not great quality transfer. Even though it wasn't a high budget film, Middle Men has a strong visual style that transfers well to high definition. Colors are bright, detail is consistent but not stellar and the overall picture quality is solid. The audio track is a mix of heavy dialogue, a few action orientated scenes and a wide mix of pop songs. There's not a whole lot of surround sound and low end needed but when they are used, they are used well.
Despite some weak spots the good generally outweighs the bad in Middle Men and it is probably deserving of a rental. I doubt too many people will suffer greatly by not seeing it but anyone who does won't feel as though they've wasted their time either. For a movie that's so throughly average, that's about as good as it's going to get.
Ratings:
Movie: 3
Blu-ray: 4
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