TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY

"TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY"
(1996) (Danny Aiello, Teri Hatcher) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Heavy	Extreme	Moderate	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Mild	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Mild	Minor	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Action: A murderer returns to the scene of his crime to collect his money, not knowing that the partner he thought he killed has taken hostages and will soon meet him again.

PLOT:: Lee Woods (JAMES SPADER) and Dosmo Pizzo (DANNY AIELLO) are two hit men who kill Becky Foxx's (TERI HATCHER) ex-husband, Roy (PETER HORTON), to collect on his insurance policy. Lee then shoots Dosmo, but doesn't realize he's wearing a bulletproof vest, nor does he realize that Becky, also in on the murder plot, forgot to get money from her safe. Lee has to return to the house, while Dosmo takes wealthy snob Allan Hopper (Greg Cruttwell) and his assistant, Susan Parish (GLENNE HEADLY ), hostage while he tries to figure out what to do next. Meanwhile vice cops Alvin Strayer (JEFF DANIELS) and Wes Taylor (ERIC STOLTZ) have picked up Becky and reported the crime, and later she meets with Lee's girlfriend and accomplice, Helga Svelgen (CHARLIZE THERON). In a subplot that leads back to the situation at Allan's home, his sister Audrey Hopper (MARSHA MASON) meets the suicidal Teddy Peppers (PAUL MAZURSKY) who wants to get rid of his dog so that he can off himself. Eventually everyone comes together in one last violent scene where everything is resolved.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might if the movie gains a hip following, but it's doubtful it will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence, sexuality, and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: None of the actors including DANNY AIELLO and TERI HATCHER are good role models in this film (other than the minor characters of Susan and Audrey).

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 1 out of 10: As you probably gathered by the plot description, this is a mishmash of a movie that wants to be the next, hip "Pulp Fiction," but fails in almost every aspect. Whereas "Pulp" at least had interesting (but maybe not likeable), three-dimensional characters, this movie is full of mean, nasty, two dimensional characters, none of which garner our sympathy. Thus we don't care what happens to any of them. That, coupled with the number of characters that make the plot convoluted, adds up to just one big mess. While it appears the film makers intended to make a hip movie based on all of the diverse characters, instead they got an unappealing, mean spirited flick. We give it just a 1 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: This is definitely not a film for younger kids, and most likely not for older ones either. It's filled with deadly and sadistic violence, some sex scenes and enough disrespectful attitudes to fill several movies. Killing comes easy in this movie and other characters are knowledgeable about the murders before they happen. Profanity is also extreme and blood and gore is rather heavy. In addition, the topic of suicide is brought up often (one character is suicidal) and is occasionally used as an attempt at humor. Make sure you read through the category listings before allowing your children to see this one.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Lee plants cocaine outside a car where he believes he just killed Dosmo.
Teddy finishes off a bottle of Scotch and prepares to kill himself again (he doesn't).
Teddy asks for a glass of Scotch at Allan's house.

BLOOD/ GORE: While threatening Roy, Lee shows him a photo of Helga's nude and bloody body.
Becky awakens (see first entry in "Violence") and sees blood splattered everywhere in her bedroom. She then finds herself covered in blood and then sees Roy's bloody body.
Becky runs out of the house, frantic for help and half of her is covered by Roy's blood.
Helga's side is bloody after she's been shot while wrestling for a gun with Becky.
Lee shoots two homicide detectives dead. The woman is shot in the head and a bloody hole is seen, while the man is shot several times in the chest and is rather bloody.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Lee likes to give his victims one minute of reflection before shooting them execution style.
Roy forces himself onto Becky, but she fights with him and he eventually rolls off her. We also find out that he had affairs while married to her.
A thief hot wires and steals a sports car, grabs Allan and throws him into the backseat.
Alvin refers to the Japanese women inside a massage parlor as "slanty-eyed whores."
Allan is very demeaning to his assistant, Susan.
It turns out Becky knew about the pending murder of Roy, but didn't know it was going to happen right next to her.
Alvin pulls out his service revolver and aims it at golfers who've just accidentally broken his home's front window. Eventually he backs down and the golfers run away.
Lee prepares to shoot Helga (because she's wounded and of no use to him any more), but she manages to escape.

FRIGHTENING/TENSE SCENES: Many of the scenes listed under "Violence" may also be viewed by some as tense or suspenseful.
Lee likes to give his victims one minute of reflection before shooting them execution style and does or attempts that in several scenes.
Teddy comes close to committing suicide several times, and once even pulls the trigger but his gun is empty.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handgun: Carried by Teddy and often placed to his head to commit suicide, but he never goes through with it.
Handguns: Used to threaten, wound or kill people. See "Violence" for details.
Bomb: Used by Lee to blow up a car he thinks Dosmo's in.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Becky throws aside a parking ticket she got on her truck.
Phrases: "Whores," "Piss," "Fag," "Shut up," "Bitch," and "Idiot."

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There's a mild amount of tense music in the movie.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 48 "f" words (6 with the prefix "mother"), 16 "s" words, 5 slang terms for male genitals (the "p" and "d" words), 4 hells, 4 SOB's, 4 "ass" words, and 6 uses of "Oh God," 5 uses of "God," 2 uses of "God damn," and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Christ," "Jesus Christ," "Oh my God," "For God's sake," "Good God," and "My God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: While listening to Becky and Roy in bed, Lee tells Dosmo, "He's trying to screw her."
Becky is often seen in her underwear.
Lee shows Roy a photo of Helga and not only is she dead, but she's nude and her breasts can be seen.
Wes is undercover (literally) at a massage parlor as he's there to bust a supposed prostitution ring. The young lady who's giving him a massage, runs her hands up under his towel and soon his obvious erection is seen under the towel and she mentions "how big" he is. She then asks if he wants anything else done, he asks what's available, and they go round and round with these questions, but in the end nothing happens. Later with Alvin, his cop partner, he finds out that Alvin is determined to close down the parlor claiming that they give "hand jobs and blow jobs."
There are all kinds of sexual "art" at Allan's house. There are paintings of nude women (one with breasts exposed, another similar one with the woman's hand down on her crotch). Outside, there's a sculpture piece where a man and woman's feet are sticking out of a clamshell from where moaning sounds are heard.
Helga comes out of the bathroom wearing a very skimpy piece of lingerie. She sits across from Lee and spreads her legs, exposing her crotch to him. He begins kissing the inside of her thighs and then gets up and puts some ice down his pants and into his mouth. He then tosses Helga onto the bed and jumps between her legs. He then rips off her lingerie, exposing her breasts and then begins sucking on them. She then flips him over and straddles him while he feels her breasts.
An oblivious couple listens to the crashing sounds of Becky and Helga fighting in the motel room above them and the man comments that "maybe that's how they make love in Tarzana."

SMOKING: Several characters occasionally smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Teddy mentions to another man that he's divorced.
Alvin has evidently gone over the edge due to having lost his wife and son to another man and to being called "my first daddy" by his son.
Becky's upset after Roy is killed, but it turns out she's more upset about the murder taking place next to her, then of him being killed (since she knew it was going to happen).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Teddy is suicidal, and often comes close to shooting himself in the head.
All of the senseless violence.
What the film makers were trying to accomplish by making this movie.

VIOLENCE: While she's sleeping, Lee stabs a syringe into Becky's butt and the sedative inside knocks her out. Dosmo then puts a gun into Roy's mouth and threatens to kill him if he makes any noise. Lee then takes his place and tells Roy that he's got sixty seconds to answer some questions or else. Roy answers the questions, but Lee shots him in the head anyway (not seen on camera).
A thief hot wires and steals a sports car, grabs Allan and throws him into the backseat.
Lee shoots Dosmo while in the car, plants cocaine near him, and then blows up the car. Dosmo, however, was wearing a bulletproof vest, and got out of the car before it blew up.
Dosmo arrives at Allan's house and holds his gun on Allan, Susan, and the dog. He keeps the gun on them for the rest of the movie.
Dosmo slaps Allan after he's disrespectful to Susan.
Dosmo shoves and pushes Allan around in his dressing room when Allan says no clothes of his will fit Dosmo.
Alvin pulls out his service revolver and aims it at golfers who've just accidentally broken his home's front window. Eventually he backs down and the golfers run away.
Becky throws the first punch and soon she and Helga are into a major brawl into a motel room. There are many punches and kicks to the face and body. Helga slams Becky's head onto the sink several times and Becky smashes a vase over Helga's head. Eventually Helga goes for her gun and the two wrestle with it. A shot goes off and Becky races from the room with a wounded and bloody Helga stumbling out and firing several shots at her.
Lee goes back to Becky's house to collect his money and shoots the two homicide detectives there dead.
Dosmo punches and knocks out Allan after he complains too much.
Lee prepares to shoot Helga (because she's wounded and of no use to him any more). She buys some time and manages to escape, but later dies of blood loss out on the street.
Lee shoots at Wes who's fallen to the sidewalk. Dosmo approaches and fires at Lee who returns fire. Lee then shoots Wes several times in the leg and when Dosmo rushes out to save him, Lee shoots him in the back. He then walks up to finish off Wes when Dosmo suddenly raises his gun and pulls the trigger, but he's out of bullets (and is wearing a bulletproof vest). Lee then walks up to Dosmo, aims the gun at his head and a shot is heard. But it's Lee who's been shot and killed by Teddy.

Reviewed September 29, 1996

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