Palookaville (1995) from Tuna

Palookaville (1995) is an "inept crook comedy", which could have easily been a Tarentinoesque violence thing, or a boring rehash of the "Over the Hill Gang." Instead, it is a low key comedy with lots of muted laughs, good performances, and wonderful character development. William Forsythe, Vincent Gallo and Adam Trese play lifelong buddies in Jersey City, New Jersey, all unemployed, all more or less in a state of perpetual childhood, and all looking for a way to make some money and have a life.

• Gallo still lives at home with his mother, sister, and jerk cop brother-in-law. He is having a secret relationship with a young neighbor girl (Kim Dickens).

• Adam Trese is married and has a child, but when he catches her supermarket boss trying to fondle her, he punches the boss out, turning them into a no-income family.

• William Forsythe lives in squalor with his two dogs since his wife divorced him.

As the film opens, they are breaking into a jewelry store. They make a small miscalculation, and end up in a bakery. Being basically optimistic guys, they make the best of things by clearing out the few dollars in the register, and eating their fill of pastry. They then try an abortive attempt to run an unlicensed taxi, and then finally hit on "the idea." They will rob an armored car.

Given their total lack of ability, you just know they will not do well.

Despite starting with an oft-used premise, the film seems fresh, and has a lot of heart as well. There were also excellent supporting performances from the likes of Frances McDormand, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Gareth Williams. I didn't get many belly laughs, but spent the entire film chuckling, grinning broadly, and enjoying the characters.