Trouble Bound

Stars: Michael Madsen (Thelma & Louise, Reservoir Dogs), Patricia Arquette (The Indian Runner, Ethan Frome). Seems like every time you turn around there's another Tilly, Phoenix, or Baldwin coming out of the woodwork, and if Hollywood really wanted to do movie fans a favor they'd enact a law limiting the amount of siblings that are allowed to embark on film careers. Case in point: Patricia Arquette, who is but a dim glimmer of her sister Rosanna. Although The Hollywood Reporter gushes that "Patricia Arquette emerges as a major star," in Trouble Bound she only threatens to emerge repeatedly from her low-cut cocktail waitress outfit. The film opens with Harry Talbot (Michael Madsen), fresh out of prison and right into a major stakes poker game (and, for some strange reason, strippers seem to operate near any poker game throughout the film). Harry wins a car, but what he doesn't realize is that there's a dead man in the trunk, whom drug dealers want. Picking up Kit (Arquette), who's busy tracking down a Mob boss, the pair spend the remainder of the film either chasing or being chased, making small talk, and basically airing out anyone who gets in their way. That this might constitute psychotic behavior is not a concern of the filmmakers who are from the school of thought that believes the only thing better than graphic violence and spurting blood is graphic violence with spurting blood and a punchline. Admittedly, there are a few clever lines in the film, but to what end? Harry and Kit aren't really sick enough to be interesting. And Trouble Bound just can't seem to make up its mind what it wants to be: cheap titillation, violent action film, or tongue-in-cheek love on the run outlaw movie. After a short while, we no longer care. Audience: Very undiscerning filmgoers.