‘Cake’ has many great layers

One of the hazards of being a successful drug dealer is that it’s

very difficult to retire. Mafia bosses don’t like to say goodbye to

people who help them make large sums of money.

In “Layer Cake,” a new movie produced and directed by Matthew

Vaughn, the unnamed dealer (Daniel Craig) needs to perform two last

favors for his boss (Kenneth Cranham) before he can quietly leave the

business.

Favor one is to locate the daughter of a wealthy socialite

(Michael Gambon). The daughter is missing from a rehab clinic and has

been seen hanging around with a local crack head.

Favor two is to broker a deal to sell a million tabs of Ecstasy.

He needs to find a suitor willing to do business with a hotheaded

wannabe gangster named Duke (Jamie Foreman), and get the drugs sold

as quickly as possible.

Neither of these tasks will be easy, and he soon finds himself

smack in the middle of a number of problems.

“Layer Cake” is Vaughn’s directorial debut. Vaughn also produced

“Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.” Like those films,

“Layer Cake” has a great script and features some terrific actors.

Everything about this movie including the cinematography and the

soundtrack is top notch.

Unlike “Snatch” or “Lock, Stock,” no one will call “Layer Cake” a

comedy. There are some funny moments, but these characters aren’t

very sympathetic. These are men who try to carry themselves like

clean-cut stockbrokers, but are really just thugs who specialize in

assault and murder. You won’t shed a tear for anyone who gets hurt,

because all of these characters have it coming.

Craig’s character, the unnamed dealer, is listed in the credits as

XXXX -- one more X than the action hero in “XXX.” He’s a smooth

operator with a cool demeanor. He dresses smartly and keeps a low

profile.

In his mind, he’s not a gangster; he’s a businessman. He doesn’t

even carry a gun. A good deal is one where everyone makes money. It

just so happens he sells massive quantities of narcotics to people

who settle their scores violently, but whether the people around him

kill each other is none of his business.

Craig plays the unnamed hero perfectly and makes you root for a

character who really isn’t the kind of person any of us want living

in our neighborhood. He gets a lot of help from a supporting cast

full of brilliant actors.

George Harris and Colm Meaney round out the cast of bad guys.

These are actors who are just as comfortable doing Shakespeare as

they are playing murderers and thugs. The talented cast is what makes

“Layer Cake” a great movie.

Another standout is Sienna Miller. Her role is small, but her

character adds a number of layers to the story. Miller has two new

movies in post-production right now and my guess is that she’ll be as

well-known as Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron before this decade is

over. And yes -- she’s hot.

Vaughn is so good at making these English gangster movies, he’s

redefining the genre to match his style of storytelling. Mafia

stories always involve murder, deceit and revenge. What’s nice is

that Vaughn’s characters are likable, but they never become so cute

that you forget they are also sociopathic.

“Layer Cake” is only playing in Southern California and in New

York City. Having access to great movies like this is one of the

perks of living near Hollywood. This is a movie that I’m recommending

to anyone I know who likes this kind of story. I guarantee you’ll be

surprised by how this one ends.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.

You won’t leave

‘Kicking & ...’

Will Ferrell is reaching for the stars in his attempts to appeal

to a more diverse audience than “Saturday Night Live.”

The holiday hit “Elf” proved Will Farrell had box office magic.

His newest comedy, “Kicking & Screaming,” establishes a wide audience

appeal that attracts both kids and adults.

Ferrell pulls in audiences who find his man-child persona

entertaining. In “Elf,” he portrayed a grown man who sees the world

from a child’s point of view. In “Kicking & Screaming,” the comedian

plays a grown man emotionally stuck in childhood.

Phil, Ferrell’s character, is a successful business owner, loving

husband and doting father. Phil is also a doting son to his father

Buck, a competitive, insensitive aging jock.

Buck is the dad who never lets and will never let his son beat him

in any game and always drives home to Phil that he is a loser. Phil

tries all his life to beat Buck, and each time he loses, he falls

apart emotionally until some adult slaps him back to his senses.

Phil tolerates Buck’s dysfunctional behavior until Buck kicks his

own grandson -- Phil’s son, Sam -- off his championship soccer team.

Phil vows to be a better dad to his son than Buck is to him.

To accomplish his goal, Phil agrees to coach Sam’s new soccer

team. The Tigers are a group of uncoordinated misfits whose sole

acclaim is their ability to lose every game.

With Phil as their coach, their prospects of winning get worse.

Phil, the son of an enthusiastic sports nut, failed every sport he

tried out for, except the one game he never learned or suited up for

-- soccer.

Phil keeps his ignorance hidden from the parents and team members

with a show of inflated confidence. Buck, however, is a genius at

knowing which buttons to push to send his son into a permanent state

of childish emotional self-doubt and anxiety.

Buck needs to win, regardless of who he hurts. Buck’s

button-pushing antics, however, are as juvenile as Phil’s emotional

outbursts. In reality, Buck has never developed beyond a childhood

bully.

In fact, all the men in “Kicking & Screaming” behave like boys,

which is part of the attraction for the movie. The implication is

that competition is an embedded male gene that refuses to develop

past the age of 14 in males. The point is well illustrated with Mike

Ditka’s scene-stealing supporting role as Buck’s neighbor and Phil’s

assistant coach. Ditka, playing himself, adds a different mix of

childish behavior, like continu- ally trying to sneak a forbidden

vice without getting caught by his wife.

The role is perfect for Ferrell, channel- ing his energy into

Phil’s larger- than-life anxiety- driven desire to defeat his dad.

Award- winning actor Robert Duvall brings a heavy dose of realism to

his role as the dad who must be right in every argument, know more

then everyone talking to him and always, always win.

Playing both characters as big boys, instead of grown men, shines

a laugh-out-loud light on father/son relationships that a lot of

adult viewers may recognize.

Parent/child relationships are only part of the formula for

“Kicking & Screaming.” Soccer is the main draw for kids. Far from

being athletic, the Tigers represent every ethnic background,

physical size, shape and personality -- all getting along with each

other. The soccer enthusiasts in the audience have the pleasure of

watching two of the kids play with the skill of Pele.

The team comprised of both ragtag and skilled players scores two

points in “Kicking & Screaming.” First, playing and doing your best

in sports (and in life) has as much value as winning. Second,

watching the two boys play with such skill helps inspire and motivate

younger viewers in whatever endeavor they choose, making “Kicking &

Screaming” an overall win-win fun experience.

* PEGGY J. ROGERS, 40, produces commercial videos and

documentaries.