PEOPLE I KNOW
Released: April 25, 2003
While not quite up to the standards of Al Pacino's 1999 flick "The Insider", "People I Know" is worth a look if you're a fan of Pacino. Loosely based on the activities of flamboyant 60s wheeler-dealer Bobby Zarem, Pacino tackles the role with his usual 110% dedication, complete with a lazy down south drawl. Pacino plays an actor's publicist who also does the dirty work the actor doesn't want to touch, like handling dead girlfriends. Equal parts of the roles Pacino played in "Simone" (the desperate film director) and "Insomnia" (the weary and tired worker), this role affords us some of Pacino's best work of late. Also starring is a simply radiant Kim Basinger, Ryan O'Neal, Téa Leoni, Robert Klein plus many other notables. Produced by Robert Redford, this movie was scheduled for release in 2001, then delayed indefinitely in the wake of 9/11, in part because it portrays an un-named New York City mayor as a "cocksucker". Now finally released in the spring of 2003, the US studio did bare minumum promotion and is content to let this one die at the box office. While not a classic like "The Insider", check out "People I Know" for a fine Pacino movie with a stellar support cast.
100 Minutes
Miramax/Buena Vista