February 01, 2021
'Out of Sight'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo and screenwriter and producer Bill Lawrence hop in the trunk with Jack Foley and Karen Sisco to rewatch Steven Soderbergh's 1998 film 'Out of Sight,' starring George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, and Ving Rhames.
Cast
George Clooney as Jack Foley
Jennifer Lopez as Karen Cisco
Ving Rhames as Buddy
Don Cheadle as Snoopy
Albert Brooks as Ripley
Michael Keaton as Ray Nicolette
Dennis Farina as Marshall Sisco
Steve Zahn as Glenn Michaels
Luis Guzman as Chino
Catherine Keener as Adele Delisi
Isaiah Washington as Kenneth
Viola Davis as Moselle
Samuel L. Jackson as Hejira Henry
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Scott Frank
Music by: David Holmes
Notes
- $48 million budget, made $77 million at the box office.
- The trunk scene was shot 45 times as one long take, but test audiences disliked it, so it was completely reshot with cuts – that became the iconic version.
- Quentin Tarantino gave permission for Michael Keaton to reprise his Jackie Brown character (Ray Nicolette) across different studios. Keaton didn't even take money for it.
- Sandra Bullock was originally supposed to play Karen Cisco – Soderbergh said she and Clooney had great chemistry but it was for the wrong movie, not Elmore Leonard energy.
- Barry Sonnenfeld was offered to direct first but dropped out to do Men in Black.
- After sex, lies, and videotape (1989), Soderbergh had a spotty 7-8 years. His quote: 'It's a very conscious decision on my part to try and climb my way out of the art house ghetto.'
- The hotel bar scene was inspired by Don't Look Now's intercutting technique.
- In the trunk scene, JLo's character says she never bought how the woman in Three Days of the Condor jumped into bed with Robert Redford so quickly – which is exactly what she herself does in this movie.
- Bill Lawrence and Clooney met playing pickup basketball at the Hollywood Y when neither was famous. Clooney told Lawrence he got hired on his 'second pilot called ER.' Lawrence said he just got hired on a show called 'Friends.' They both dismissed their new jobs.
- The movie was widely considered to have been mismarketed – released in summer during blockbuster season when it was clearly a fall/October movie.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“Clooney has never been better. There are a lot of actors who are handsome when young, need to put on some miles before the full flavor emerges. Here, Clooney at last looks like a big screen star.”
Most re-watchable scene
- The hotel bar scene / Gary and Celeste scene with the 'what if I had stopped' monologue (Bill Simmons).
- The trunk scene – Clooney and JLo developing chemistry (Bill Lawrence).
What aged the best?
- The opening bank robbery scene.
- 1990s Detroit depicted in the film.
- Clooney's strategy of robbing banks without a gun.
- The Dennis Farina / JLo father-daughter scenes.
- Great nicknames: Dick the Ripper (Albert Brooks) and Snoopy (Don Cheadle).
- Catherine Keener's 1998-99 run.
- Ving Rhames's 1993-98 run.
- The score by David Holmes.
What aged the worst?
- The Karen Cisco ABC spin-off with Carla Gugino that failed.
- The Albert Brooks bald cap/makeup – looked fake even for 1998.
- Clooney looking bad at basketball despite being a good player in real life.
Casting what-ifs
- Sandra Bullock was supposed to play Karen Cisco.
- Danny DeVito and Garry Shandling were both considered for the Ripley role (Albert Brooks's part).
Best "that guy"
- Luis Guzman (consensus winner).
- Dennis Farina.
- Catherine Keener.
- Isaiah Washington.
- Steve Zahn.
- White Boy Bob (Keith Loneker).
Over-acting award
Steve Zahn – dialed up to 11 in every scene, fully committed to his stoner character.
Re-casting couch
Replace JLo's boss (Wendell Harris) with Laurence Fishburne.
Half-assed (internet) research
- Cast members ad-libbed a lot, including Cheadle's line about 'high potentiality for the common motherfucker to bitch out'.
- The movie was mismarketed – released in summer blockbuster season when it was clearly a fall/October movie.
- When Ving Rhames meets White Boy Bob, his line foreshadows Bob literally shooting himself and accidentally dying.
Apex Mountain
- George Clooney – No, his Apex Mountain is Ocean's 11.
- JLo – No, her Apex Mountain came about two years later with her music career.
- Soderbergh – possibly, but more like the launching pad.
- Ving Rhames – No, 'Pulp Fiction' is his Apex Mountain.
- Elmore Leonard – No, Get Shorty is probably his Apex Mountain.
- Detroit – No, Detroit's Apex Mountain is mid-1980s.
Picking nits
- The back-and-forth chronology is slightly confusing on first viewing.
- JLo's fantasy/dream sequence cheats – she fantasizes about Clooney in the exact hotel room he's in, but she's never been there.
- After JLo is knocked unconscious, her boss comes in reading her report – when did she write it?
- Would Jack Foley really have gone back to save the maid? Felt slightly unearned for his character.
Sequel, prequel, prestige TV or untouchable?
Would absolutely be a 10-episode Netflix show today – Steve Zahn would get his own episode, you'd see Ving Rhames confessing to his sister, more Guzman backstory.
(Probably) unanswerable questions
- Can you really leave diamonds in a fish tank without damaging them?
- Is there a way to end the movie where the federal agent helps the guy she loves escape instead of arresting him?
- How come no one's ever been able to nail the prison sitcom?
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
- The JLo Dan Marino #13 Miami Dolphins jersey (Bill Simmons).
- Clooney's Zippo lighter (Bill Lawrence).
Who won the movie?
Soderbergh (consensus) – proved he could make a commercial, stylish film and led directly to Ocean's 11.