John Goodman is wonderful here. Even though his character is seriously injured and near death, Steve just keeps on telling his story and his mind seems clear, despite all that is going on. Steve even cares about Frank, as bad a shape as he's in! Of course, when he is narrating and we see something else, he sounds perfectly normal. He tells the story two different times, though, and the other time we see at the very beginning of the movie. We just don't get to see that much.
I know Robert Carlyle mainly is a crafty and sometimes gleeful villain, and I'm quite used to seeing him go back and forth between the present day and an earlier life, which is what this movie does a lot. Here, there is one scene that hints at his future, but mostly he is a kind and caring man who also shows he hasn't gotten over his late wife. It's a different side of him, certainly, though he had not played the villain yet.
The scenes with kids are fun and just edgy enough, with the humorous attempts to be "proper".
I've seen Mary Steenburgen in so many great roles. She's kind of flat here a lot of the time, trying so hard to be proper, but she gets an attitude change later. It's still a good performance because that's just how the character is. And she is a wonderful dancer.
Marisa Tomei is quite likable and someone I can support as a potential romantic interest, quite a contrast somehow to a role of hers I saw earlier.
I'm not familiar with Donnie Wahlberg though I've heard of him. He's mostly your typical bully but has a vulnerable side.
A couple of other actors have only a few lines, but they are well known and do quite well. Danny DeVito was Steve's cellmate in prison.
And Octavia Spencer has one line. But she does it so well it's clear she will go on to be highly regarded.
The best thing about the movie for me was the music. No, they're not the original versions of the songs in most case, but the sound of the big band era is back, baby! This movie swings!
But of course not everything here is positive. Not everything will work out the way we would hope and yet some endings are happy.
I had a good time. Mostly.
