PUPS
Released: March 31, 2000
I stummbled across "Pups" (1999) on late night HBO recently and was compelled to watch through to the end simply because it was nothing I had seen before. Cameron Van Hoy plays Stevie an asthmatic thirteen year old who, perhaps trying to impress his girlfriend Rocky (Mischa Barton, the little girl who is poisoned in "The Sixth Sense"), finds his Mother's gun and decides to rob a bank on their way to school. The bulk of the movie plays out inside the bank where Stevie takes charge with able assistance from Rocky. Adult bank emplyees and customers are both scared and baffled at the situation. The FBI is called in with its leader played by Burt Reynolds becoming the negotiator. The self-assured Stevie and Rocky keep the scene under control with interesting interaction with their hostages. Released at a time when school shootings were becoming standard fare on nightly news broadcasts, "Pups" is both frightening and brutally honest in its portrayal of a society that has lost its way. How you react to this movie, especially the ending, says a lot about yourself.
83 Minutes
Eagle Eye Films/Team Okuyama/Miracle Mile Films