With Lyrics and Music, Can Become Broadway Musical....
yygsgsdrassil | Crossroads America | 01/18/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"....ah...I can see it now. Slappingly funny double entendres, tongue in cheekness ala the musical Chigago. A good idea. Steven Weber plays bedabout good natured lout Hutch Rimes who it turns out was too close to the scene of an accidental shooting. The husband (Proudfit) of a woman Hutch was having an affair with shoots and kills her one night as the husband suspects someone is snooping 'round his house. Proudfit, it seems, was on the right track about someone snooping as his wife has convinced Hutch (seen in a series of quik edits dressed in a cat burgular outfit out in the yard somewhere) to sneak in to murder Proudfit, but a snafu has him rifling his wife instead. Fast forward years in the future: Hutch's whole smarmy life unravels as Proudfit is relased from prison and threatening events occurs--his Caddy tires are slashed, cut and paste hate notes are sent to him, his office is trashed. Is it Proudfit or one of the husbands of one of his many conquests doing the dirt? Only his trusty Right Hand Gal, Binny, (a woosy Swoosy Kurtz) can clean up this mess and meet him later in the hole in the wall tavern down the street. Played for lightheartnedness and laughs I do think it can successfully made into a Broadway musical. Look at Hairspray."
Surprisingly good
Francesca Jourdan | Montreal, Canada | 08/06/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A womanizing insurance man, Hutch Rimes (Steven Weber), has affairs with his blonde employees. Ten years ago, one of the ladies, Holly (Nina Siemaszko) requests his help to kill Cotton, her abusive husband (Gregg Henry). That night, she is inadvertedly killed by Cotton, who goes to jail for her death.
Ten years later, Cotton is released and catches up with his son Jesse (Gabriel Mann).
In the meantime Hutch has had several affairs, his most recent one with Olivia Wise (Gail O'Grady) married to Dewey (Stephen Tobolowsky), who suspects the affair and wants to kill Hutch. Olivia enlists Hutch's help to kill Dewey, but will Hutch do it? Will the truth about what happened ten years ago be revealed?
An unoriginal plot, the film has *luckily* a nice twist to its ending, slightly predictable 3/4 in the movie.
Note that attention must be paid throughout as it is quite easy to miss out on critical scenes, essential to understanding the plot(s).
The best actor here is Swoosie Kurtz as Hutch's assistant; Steven Weber is decent, as are Tobolowsky, Henry and Mann. A good cast.
Obviously a tv-movie or direct-to-dvd production, it's still very enjoyable. A dramatic thriller, it also has its funny moments.
Surprisingly good for a B movie with an unoriginal plot. Worth renting once."
A comedy noir without Wings
Amaranth | Northern California | 06/29/2007
(2 out of 5 stars)
"The director of "Sleep Easy,Hutch Rimes" doesn't know what tone to have. It doesn't know if it wants to be humorous, suspenseful, or romantic. By trying to be all genres at once, it fails spectacularly. Steven Weber stars as a Don Juan insurance salesman whose other full-time job is seducing women. Weber's utter lack of sex appeal makes his lothario role worthy of suspension of disbelief. After all,going to the movies IS a fantasy;the thought of Steven Weber playing an insurance salesman Casanova is quite a stretch.
The plot is noir-ish,and needlessly complicated. There's adultery! Romance! Murder! Double entendres! The conclusion is quite violent,as is expected. Swoosie Kurtz plays Binnie Redwine, the faithful secretary who has always pined for her boss. She's old enough to be his mother. In the closing scene in a hotel room, Weber looks generally shocked when lingerie-clad Kurtz is ready to get her hands on him.
It's not surprising this mediocre movie didn't make it into theaters;it lacks Wings."
Sleep Easy Hutch Rimes
Steven Hellerstedt | 07/24/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Insurance salesman has an affair with his secretary with murderous results. Okay comedy/noir that tries to touch a few too many bases and drags a bit in the middle. Entertaining and forgettable."