Palookaville

R

Released Oct 25, 1996

1h 33m

Comedy

List

64%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

63%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Sid (William Forsythe), Russell (Vincent Gallo) and Jerry (Adam Trese) are three friends in New Jersey who are struggling for money. After deciding that crime is the answer to their problems, they plan a jewelry store theft -- only to mistakenly break into a bakery next door. The three men go straight, believing they are not suited to crime. As their financial woes continue, however, they eventually agree on what they feel is a flawless scheme to rob an armored car.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Palookaville understands a kind of low-key humor based on human nature.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Steve Davis

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Susan Stark

Detroit News

Rated: 4/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Taylor's charming comedy owes its existence to Fellini's I Vitelloni and Barry Levinson's Diner.

Rated: B+

Jun 18, 2011

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 2/5

Oct 9, 2005

Full Review

Michelle Alexandria

Eclipse Magazine

Rated: 2/5

Mar 26, 2004

Full Review

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Audience Member

Could've been better A lot of these characters are not that likable The actual heist doesn't happen until the last 10 min No actual comedy here sad to say It should've focused more on the criminals and less about their personal lives The ending is actually kind of a funny twist given what was presented before being these guys want to walk away with a huge score The movie loses a lot of its edge fast just begging for the viewer to get to the good stuff

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Three witless cons, who can't straighten up their lives, look for a crime and end up with a bad idea for a hold up on an armoured truck. Palookaville is an entertaining and quirky romp with European flavours, and while the unexpected feelgood ending is somewhat disappointing and the plot and character developments do not always gel in the best of way, it's still fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Amazing and so funny.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is sooooo corny like apparent I missed something cause I didn't see the point or purpose. & the ending was kinda of a cliff hanger....

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sorely underrated. Definitely watch this is you've spare time and bump into it; is as funny as it is violent...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Clumsy, dim-witted comedy that manages to mess up on almost every level. It becomes wearisome within the first ten minutes at most, and it only gets worse from there. This movie forces the audience to participate in the bumblings of three despicable characters for 90 minutes. The dialogue scenes are all bizarrely directed, forcing actors to perform actions that are as unconvincing as they are stupid. This isn't funny material; it's downright desperate. Vincent Gallo (the reason I bought it) is great as always, and the same can be said for Frances McDormand. That's about all that can be said for this misfire.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

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Alan Taylor

Director

William Forsythe

Sid Dunleavy

Vincent Gallo

Russell Pataki

Adam Trese

Jerry

Gareth Williams

Ed

LisaGay Hamilton

Betty

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Synopsis

Sid (William Forsythe), Russell (Vincent Gallo) and Jerry (Adam Trese) are three friends in New Jersey who are struggling for money. After deciding that crime is the answer to their problems, they plan a jewelry store theft -- only to mistakenly break into a bakery next door. The three men go straight, believing they are not suited to crime. As their financial woes continue, however, they eventually agree on what they feel is a flawless scheme to rob an armored car.

Director: Alan Taylor
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 1996, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Apr 1, 2003
Box Office (Gross USA): $342.4K
Runtime: 1h 33m