Pushing Tin
User Comments

NOTE: Comment contains spoilers.

May 7, 1999

Carlo,

I saw Pushing Tin last night, and I still haven't the foggiest idea what the director was trying to do. Unlike some, I was not enamored of the characters and had difficulting feeling any sympathy for their marital problems. The movie slogged along for me as I waited for the inevitable scenes: when she finds out the truth, when she moves out, when he comes to term with himself, when they reconcile. Yawn. To be fair, there was some witty dialogue and the performances (especially Cusack's) hit their marks. But the suspense sequences seemed so contrived and stamped with the artificial clodhopper of the screenwriter that I couldn't take them seriously. They needed a bomb scare just to break Cusack and have Thornton triumph for good. My believability problem was the tendency for every air traffic controller to suddenly leave their posts (and their planes) to crowd around one monitor and comment on the action. These guys traveled in packs throughout the movie--it was ridiculous. I give it a C.

-- Vornporn
Vornporn,

No argument here. That's exactly the grade I gave it. It was odd that the other controllers seemed to have nothing better to do than to watch Cusack or Thornton, wasn't it? And the crises were certainly artificial. My only point of disagreement might be over Nick Falzone's (Cusack) breakdown. Perhaps it was too scripted, but there was the germ of an interesting story here. Too bad they loused it up with predictable plot elements and assorted screwball humor.

-- Carlo


Send us a comment on Pushing Tin. We'll post the best comments!

Back to the review.