Time for another movie review

This may contain spoilers, but I don't think you guys will run out to see this anyway. Read on at your own risk.

Caught this one called The Darwin Awards. It's worthy of mention and worthy of watching on a week night. No Oscars here, and the leading lady is Winona Rider... still not sure what the attraction is to her. But it was an interesting idea and definitely had some good laughs, but fell short on overall chemistry and seemed a bit contrived. I never really believed the actors, just thought they were reading their lines, if you know what I mean. And in one sense, it's really a complete ripoff of the TV show Monk.

Anyway, it's all based on a police investigator who gets fired because he always passes out when he sees blood. He takes a job for an insurance company investigating the more bizare insurance claims, all of which we've read time and time again in e-mails billed as The Darwin Awards. They have the exec that jumps out his window trying to prove that the glass is unbreakable, of course the Jato rocket attached to the car, and the headbangers sneaking into the Metalica show.

The film almost looks like an indi, but it clearly had some budget and production value. The cast was a bizzare who's who of talent... up and commers, old timers, SNL alumni, an authentic beat poet, the myth busters, and an appearance by Metalica.

They kept one gimick running through the whole thing and then blew it at the end. There's a student making a college film documentary about the investigator, but you never see him. They speak to him, and interact with him, but much of the film is from his point of view... through his camera. Once they do show him, but he's got the big camera covering his face. Then suddenly in the last few minutes they do this big goofy gag where they're scaling the side of a building and BAM there he is with not even a reference to the big reveal... just matter of fact... there he is. It's not a big secret as you recognize his voice almost in the first two minutes of the film... he's everybody's favorite Foreign Exchange Student from That Seventies Show. I just wonder why they bothered w/ the whole Hide-the-Face gag and then just dropped it with no fanfare.