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Chain of Fools
Warner Bros. // R // February 15, 2005
List Price: $14.97 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Chain of Fools is...no, you're thinking of Kissing a Fool, that awful David Schwimmer movie that's on Comedy Central every 45 minutes. 
No, Chain of Fools stars...no, now you're thinking of Fools Rush In with Matthew Perry. There are no holdovers from the Friends cast in here, and stop interrupting me already. You've never heard of Chain of Fools, or at least I haven't, and since I'm the definitive barometer for popular culture or whatever, that means no one has. Despite the 2000 date plastered on the end credits, I can't find any evidence of a domestic theatrical release or even a dump direct-to-video. Oh well. Directed by the Svedish collective Traktor and finally having the dust brushed off it by Warner Home Video, Chain of Fools is limping to DVD five years after being filmed. I can get why it might have been shelved; Chain of Fools isn't an overly commercial film, but if there's any justice in the world, he types with an implied exclamation mark, it'll finally have a chance to win over a cult audience on DVD.
Chain of Fools doesn't follow the expected plot progression from Point A to Point B to Fade-to-Black-Roll-Credits. Think Memento or 21 Grams, only with a bit part with Orlando Jones as a transvestite and a lot more dead people. I mention this 'cause part of the appeal of Chain of Fools is gradually discovering what's going on -- beginning "in media res", as the kids say -- so an overly verbose plot synopsis would sap away a lot of the fun. The capsule summary is that Kresk (Steve Zahn) is a pretty wretched barber, and as his wife announces she's filed for divorce, Kresk stumbles onto the fact that his barb-ee stole a set of ancient Chinese coins worth millions of dollars. Avnet (Jeff Goldblum) knows that he knows, and the brawl that ensues doesn't go the way either of them expected. Kresk turns to his overgrown boy scout buddy Andy (David Cross) for help, and they wind up in possession of the priceless Shiny New Enemies.
An unexpected good deed from Kresk inadvertently intertangles a couple of different investigations by former Playboy covergirl Detective Kolko (Salma Hayek), even though trying to sleep with the officer investigating the murders that led to him getting several million dollars worth of stolen coins isn't a particularly stellar idea.
Again, that's just the capsule version, and there's a lot more than that to the story. Picking a less than ideal location to dump a body. Competing hit men with the same mark trying to figure out protocol. Convincing a little shit to take a little shit in another country. Pastrami on rye pointing to the way to the men behind a double homicide. A tranvestite nurse. An unreliable narrator with vastly different retellings of his first kill and a passion for Cats. An illiterate heavy who floats the money to cover a hitman, then decides to kill the guy who wanted the hitman sent to kill someone else. Rover wrangling with a ring. Don't want to spoil everything. Stop choppy, incomplete sentences.
Chain of Fools has a very specific, very deliberate approach to comedy, more the type of leave me with a wry smirk plastered across my face rather than laughing out loud.
There really aren't any broad attempts at humor -- no mugging for the camera, fart jokes, double takes, pratfalls, or whatever else you might be bombarded with by lesser movies. It's a film about unusual things happening to unusual people...about the almost labyrinthine way these people's lives intersect and the sheer number of coincidences necessary for all this to happen. At the same time, Chain of Fools isn't the sort of movie that revels in its strangeness. It doesn't get unnecessarily surreal or flail its arms wildly to say "hey! Look at how zany this is!" Even though there's an awful lot going on, the movie juggles a large number of side stories and a hefty supporting cast effortlessly, and even coupled with the non-linear approach, things never get overwhelming or confusing. I'd say it's kind of like an episode of Frasier if Kelsey Grammer were a murderous transvestite-nailing thief with a pair of scissors lodged in his throat.
As you could hopefully guess from that sort of description, the humor does often take a dark turn, and there's something appealing to me about a comedy with a body count.
The movie also benefits from a great cast. David Cross is great, obviously, but I also think Steve Zahn is an underrated comic actor. Anyone who can make me not ashamed to proclaim that I liked Saving Silverman is clearly talented. Despite having seen him in a number of other movies over the years, Elijah Wood has become so cemented in my mind as Frodo that it's nice to see him in an unrecognizably different role. Those are just some of the key parts -- the cast is further rounded out by the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Corrigan, David Hyde Pierce, Lara Flynn Boyle, Michael Rapaport, and Craig Ferguson.
Chain of Fools is that rare sort of movie where I can't even name a good point of comparison -- I could rattle off a bunch of mediocre flicks with similar tone and structure, especially ones set in the desert starring Rachael Leigh Cook, but mentioning those kinda defeats the point. I only label it a comedy because that's the genre that's the least uncomfortable fit, and there aren't an overwhelming number of comedies I could name where their characters bond over the suicides in their lives without Visine tears or a syrupy score being put to work. Viewers with an off-kilter sense of humor that are interested in a comedy that doesn't warm over some stale comic formula should certainly consider giving Chain of Fools a look.
Video: The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen video looks phenomenal, boasting deep, inky blacks, an immaculately detailed image, and an overall nice, three-dimensional appearance. The film's palette complements the tone of the movie, appearing somewhat subdued with a slightly blueish tint. The source material is remarkably clean, without so much as a single nick or speck spotted throughout. The only blemish of note is some sporadic and rather light ringing around some edges, and one early example (cropped but otherwise untouched) is provided at right. Those sorts of artifacts are neither pervasive nor intrusive in Chain of Fools, doing little to dull my enthusiasm for an otherwise flawless presentation. It's always a pleasure to see an under-the-radar catalog title look as great as this.
Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, encoded at a bitrate of 384Kbps, is a mostly typical comedy mix with the majority of the action anchored up front.
Some sound effects do occasionally pop up in the rear channels; for instance, the introductions of some characters are accompanied by effects that leap around from speaker to speaker like a pinball on crank. Chain of Fools' dialogue comes through cleanly and clearly, and the various bits of music (including contributions from Citizen King, The Eels, and Soul Coughing) scattered throughout have a reasonably full presence. Nothing remarkable, but no complaints.
The DVD is closed captioned and also offers subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: The only extra is a two-minute anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer.
The DVD includes a set of static 16x9 static menus and a total of 24 chapter stops. The disc comes cradled in a keepcase, and at least on the review copy I was sent, no insert was included for the handful of you with an obsessive interest in that sort of thing.
Conclusion: Chain of Fools is a cleverly constructed heist comedy, although I am left with the impression that even though I'm glad that I took the time to see the movie, I don't see myself desperately wanting to watch it a second time. The bargain bin sticker price is pretty appealing though, available from a couple different online stores for nine bucks shipped, and the difference in cost between that and a rental might be enough to push some towards a purchase. Either way, I'd recommend it.
No, Chain of Fools stars...no, now you're thinking of Fools Rush In with Matthew Perry. There are no holdovers from the Friends cast in here, and stop interrupting me already. You've never heard of Chain of Fools, or at least I haven't, and since I'm the definitive barometer for popular culture or whatever, that means no one has. Despite the 2000 date plastered on the end credits, I can't find any evidence of a domestic theatrical release or even a dump direct-to-video. Oh well. Directed by the Svedish collective Traktor and finally having the dust brushed off it by Warner Home Video, Chain of Fools is limping to DVD five years after being filmed. I can get why it might have been shelved; Chain of Fools isn't an overly commercial film, but if there's any justice in the world, he types with an implied exclamation mark, it'll finally have a chance to win over a cult audience on DVD. Chain of Fools doesn't follow the expected plot progression from Point A to Point B to Fade-to-Black-Roll-Credits. Think Memento or 21 Grams, only with a bit part with Orlando Jones as a transvestite and a lot more dead people. I mention this 'cause part of the appeal of Chain of Fools is gradually discovering what's going on -- beginning "in media res", as the kids say -- so an overly verbose plot synopsis would sap away a lot of the fun. The capsule summary is that Kresk (Steve Zahn) is a pretty wretched barber, and as his wife announces she's filed for divorce, Kresk stumbles onto the fact that his barb-ee stole a set of ancient Chinese coins worth millions of dollars. Avnet (Jeff Goldblum) knows that he knows, and the brawl that ensues doesn't go the way either of them expected. Kresk turns to his overgrown boy scout buddy Andy (David Cross) for help, and they wind up in possession of the priceless Shiny New Enemies.
 |
| Sorry, felt obligated to share. |
Again, that's just the capsule version, and there's a lot more than that to the story. Picking a less than ideal location to dump a body. Competing hit men with the same mark trying to figure out protocol. Convincing a little shit to take a little shit in another country. Pastrami on rye pointing to the way to the men behind a double homicide. A tranvestite nurse. An unreliable narrator with vastly different retellings of his first kill and a passion for Cats. An illiterate heavy who floats the money to cover a hitman, then decides to kill the guy who wanted the hitman sent to kill someone else. Rover wrangling with a ring. Don't want to spoil everything. Stop choppy, incomplete sentences.
Chain of Fools has a very specific, very deliberate approach to comedy, more the type of leave me with a wry smirk plastered across my face rather than laughing out loud.
There really aren't any broad attempts at humor -- no mugging for the camera, fart jokes, double takes, pratfalls, or whatever else you might be bombarded with by lesser movies. It's a film about unusual things happening to unusual people...about the almost labyrinthine way these people's lives intersect and the sheer number of coincidences necessary for all this to happen. At the same time, Chain of Fools isn't the sort of movie that revels in its strangeness. It doesn't get unnecessarily surreal or flail its arms wildly to say "hey! Look at how zany this is!" Even though there's an awful lot going on, the movie juggles a large number of side stories and a hefty supporting cast effortlessly, and even coupled with the non-linear approach, things never get overwhelming or confusing. I'd say it's kind of like an episode of Frasier if Kelsey Grammer were a murderous transvestite-nailing thief with a pair of scissors lodged in his throat.  |
| "Y'know what? You don't deserve any of these patches...yeah, unless they're for crying! Gimme!" |
The movie also benefits from a great cast. David Cross is great, obviously, but I also think Steve Zahn is an underrated comic actor. Anyone who can make me not ashamed to proclaim that I liked Saving Silverman is clearly talented. Despite having seen him in a number of other movies over the years, Elijah Wood has become so cemented in my mind as Frodo that it's nice to see him in an unrecognizably different role. Those are just some of the key parts -- the cast is further rounded out by the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Corrigan, David Hyde Pierce, Lara Flynn Boyle, Michael Rapaport, and Craig Ferguson.
Chain of Fools is that rare sort of movie where I can't even name a good point of comparison -- I could rattle off a bunch of mediocre flicks with similar tone and structure, especially ones set in the desert starring Rachael Leigh Cook, but mentioning those kinda defeats the point. I only label it a comedy because that's the genre that's the least uncomfortable fit, and there aren't an overwhelming number of comedies I could name where their characters bond over the suicides in their lives without Visine tears or a syrupy score being put to work. Viewers with an off-kilter sense of humor that are interested in a comedy that doesn't warm over some stale comic formula should certainly consider giving Chain of Fools a look.
Video: The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen video looks phenomenal, boasting deep, inky blacks, an immaculately detailed image, and an overall nice, three-dimensional appearance. The film's palette complements the tone of the movie, appearing somewhat subdued with a slightly blueish tint. The source material is remarkably clean, without so much as a single nick or speck spotted throughout. The only blemish of note is some sporadic and rather light ringing around some edges, and one early example (cropped but otherwise untouched) is provided at right. Those sorts of artifacts are neither pervasive nor intrusive in Chain of Fools, doing little to dull my enthusiasm for an otherwise flawless presentation. It's always a pleasure to see an under-the-radar catalog title look as great as this. Audio: The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, encoded at a bitrate of 384Kbps, is a mostly typical comedy mix with the majority of the action anchored up front.
Some sound effects do occasionally pop up in the rear channels; for instance, the introductions of some characters are accompanied by effects that leap around from speaker to speaker like a pinball on crank. Chain of Fools' dialogue comes through cleanly and clearly, and the various bits of music (including contributions from Citizen King, The Eels, and Soul Coughing) scattered throughout have a reasonably full presence. Nothing remarkable, but no complaints. The DVD is closed captioned and also offers subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: The only extra is a two-minute anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer.
The DVD includes a set of static 16x9 static menus and a total of 24 chapter stops. The disc comes cradled in a keepcase, and at least on the review copy I was sent, no insert was included for the handful of you with an obsessive interest in that sort of thing.
Conclusion: Chain of Fools is a cleverly constructed heist comedy, although I am left with the impression that even though I'm glad that I took the time to see the movie, I don't see myself desperately wanting to watch it a second time. The bargain bin sticker price is pretty appealing though, available from a couple different online stores for nine bucks shipped, and the difference in cost between that and a rental might be enough to push some towards a purchase. Either way, I'd recommend it.
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