Best Laid Plans
The opening shot of the film showing the bar and neon sign and then the bar's interior is an homage to Orson Welles and Citizen Kane (1941), with the camera appearing to pass through the glass window in one continuous movement.,Brice wears glasses when in a bar with Nick and at the house when Nick arrives until they go down stairs when he's seen without them on then he's got them on again when he enters the basement but he's got them on again when standing by the pool table.,Bad Ass Dude: Boy, you got a funny idea about chivalry. When me and my lady go driving, she always rides up front with me.,The DVD contains some deleted scenes:
Alternate Opening Titles featuring a vagrant named Cal, riding a bicycle decorated with recycling goods.
At the pool Nick and Bryce discuss what to do with Lissa.
Cal collects some tins.
Nick and Lissa sell the belongings of Nicks's deceased father.,Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Stir of Echoes/The Minus Man/Suger Town/Best Laid Plans/On the Ropes (1999),Why Can't He Be You
Written by Hank Cochran
Performed by Patsy Cline
Courtesy of MCA Records
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets,"Best Laid Plans" has invited a lot of comparisons with "The Usual Suspects", but with its caper-plan-gone-awry storyline it reminded me more of "Palmetto" - except that it's not as good as either of those films. The whole set-up is rather laborious, and the payoff, while clever, doesn't really amount to much. Ultimately, this is a very unexceptional movie; you can easily find many of its equivalents in the "crime" section of your local video store. What makes it worth your time are the performances; Nivola, in particular, has an engagingly laid-back presence and Reese Witherspoon is good as usual. (**1/2),