Review: Middle Men

Grade: B

Jack Harris was a happily married family man living in Houston, Texas in 1995. He makes a decent living fixing problem companies. One day, a lawyer he knows suggests that he goes out to California to meet with two men who seem quite idiotic but may have just started the most successful business ever. The internet was a relatively new discovery when Wayne Beering and Buck Dolby decided to put porn on the internet and charge for it. Within weeks they had made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Problem was they didn’t quite know what they were doing, in comes Jack to help them out. Before he knows it, Jack is mixed up with drug addicts, mobsters, porn stars, conmen and the FBI and is getting sucked into a new lifestyle as he makes million with the internet industry.

I have been looking forward to this movie for a while, and it was pretty good. One of its only faults though, is that it can’t really tell what it wants to be. It starts as a comedy based on a true story and in an instant it turns into a kind of serious drama and then ends on a sentimental almost Disney-esque moment. Outside of that, it is great and very enjoyable. When it’s funny, it’s really funny. Watching the antics of some of the characters is absolutely hilarious. Some of the serious moments are pretty interesting. The writing and storyline is actually very enjoyable, in my opinion. Of course, since it is at its heart a movie about the internet porn industry, it is a very R rated movie.

The cast of this movie is very entertaining and ranged. Luke Wilson (Death at a Funeral, Henry Poole is Here) plays the lead role of Jack Harris and narrates the movie. Wilson was great in this movie and hit all the notes of the movie just right. I really like Luke Wilson and actually like him more than his brother, Owen, and wish Luke had a bigger career. Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar, Flight of the Phoenix) plays the role of Wayne Beering. Ribisi was great in this movie, he was funny when he needed to be, and really pulled off the part of a crazed drug addict very well. Gabriel Macht (The Spirit, The Recruit) plays Buck Dolby, a former rocket scientist who helped introduce porn to the internet. Macht did a great job with his role as well and was very enjoyable in the movie. The movie also features great performances from James Caan, Jacinda Barrett, Rade Serbedzija, Laura Ramsey, Terry Crews, Kelsey Grammer, Graham McTavish and Kevin Pollack.

Middle Men is a great and fun movie to watch. It tells a bizarre story about how the porn industry started on the internet that is so strange, it has to be true. I found the story rather interesting and if you are interested in this subject, you’ll probably like it too.

Great quote: “If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that business is a lot like sex. Getting in is easy, pulling out is hard.”