For those who like a little Kids with Cancer with their heist movies, John Travolta’s latest may be for you.
Travolta plays Raymond Cutter, a skilled art forger who, upon learning that his teenage son is terminally ill, begs his old crime boss to pull some strings to get him released from prison with only months left to go on his sentence. Of course, nothing’s free in these kinds of movies and his boos wants something in return: forge me a Monet and steal me the real one. Not an easy task under the best of times but even harder when you’re trying to bond with your estranged sick son and your estranged Dad at the same time.
I had a short conversation with Khalid from The Blazing Reel last week about Travolta’s many questionable choices but I was amazed when watching The Forger how bad things really have gotten for him. I’m amazed that this wasn’t a straight-to DVD release. As I implied in my opening paragraph, the pairing of the sick kid family drama and caper picture feels awkward and a little crass. Travolta, as well as Christopher Plummer and Tye Sheridan (who play Travolta’s father and son), really seem to be trying but the family drama really doesn’t give them much to work with. Cutter spends most of his bonding time with his son by taking him to see a prostitute and teaching him to forge paintings. The father-son story takes up so much of the film’s running time that little time is left over for the planning and execution of the heist itself, which is pretty much rushed through at the end.
Still, I can’t claim indifference. I found myself wanting things to work out for these three characters. Knowing that Travolta himself has lost a son made it impossible for me to write off the story as completely trite. Unfortunately, there’s just not a single new twist or idea to be found in this movie that tries to be two movies without delivering on either one.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
I didn’t think it could get worse than Killing Season.
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It probably isn’t. I actively avoided Killing Season based on the accent I heard him doing in the trailer. As Fragglerocking said, he’s really lost his way.
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Good move. There’s no reason anyone needs to see that one.
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It speaks volumes that I learnt about this movie’s existence the way I did: Literally thirty seconds ago, when I read this blog post.
I think I’m going to need to watch this one, though. John Travolta’s awesomely terrible wig compels me.
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That’s what we’re here for!
The hair held my attention throughout but probably because there wasn’t much elese going on.
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Ooh no, poor Travolta, seems to have lost his way a bit.
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Good point although I would argue that he lost his way “a bit” when he made Michael. At this point, I’m not sure even Tarantino could save his career.
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Great review ……… and helpful. Bonding with a child and art theft. A regular family film.
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What’s great is he starts teaching him how to steal stuff. So bad. Thanks for stopping by!
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Thank you, yet again, for steering this YaVolta fan clear. Cheers —
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Watching Crap So That You Don’t Have To. This should be our new slogan.
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Well u saved me again Jay;) thanks
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Actually, I saved you this time. 🙂
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Lol sorry Matt, on vacation , u know how it is 😉 thanks
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This movie holds no interest except for whatever Travolta is doing with his hair both on his head and on his face. Nice review.
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Now thanks to my helpful review, you don’t have to watch the movie. You can just stare at the picture I posted for as long as it’s still funny.
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Ha, this seems like a good plan. It’ll probably be a while before it’s not funny anymore.
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When I read “the pairing of the sick kid family drama and caper picture” I think, that’s a concept with no middle ground. It’s either going to be horrible or amazing. Honestly it sounds like a blend of Mrs. Doubtfire and Sexy Beast. Or My Sister’s Keeper and Snatch. It seems like an idea with so much promise, but only in the very best hands, and the cast alone makes me think, failure. The one thing I find believable is that Travolta’s been in the hoosegow so long he really believe soul patches are still cool.
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Hilarious comparisons but honestly the crime drama element here isn’t nearly as edgy as the ones you mentioned. You’re right about My Sister’s Keeper though. It’s more like My Sisters Keeper meets National Treasure 2.
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John Travolta is really hard to look at now.
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Yes, he is. He’s been bad for a good long while (if not forever), but now he’s just sliding into sad territory.
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