It's not _______ meets _______ with an edge. It's better.

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 1999)

I saw a preview screening of this movie today with my brother and we both enjoyed the film immensely.
Being born and raised in Canada, the both of us most likely missed a fair bit of the dialogue due to accents and slang, but from what we did pick up loud and clear, we were grateful for.
The film's story is its strength, and colourful characters being its stock in trade. Executed beautifully and edited quite nicely, the film's pace was engaging and flawless.
A certain pop singer's cameo appearances actually elicited laughter from the audience, I'm not sure whether that tone was intended or not.
There's a certain playful attitude that will require a suspension of disbelief, a certain element of embellishment in story telling is employed and certain characters are larger than life for comic effect.
It seems inevitable that some people will compare this film to "Trainspotting", or even "Trainspotting" meets "Rounders" with a hard edge of "Reservoir Dogs" thrown in for good measure. Now if you've seen those movies and enjoyed them, I'd be surprised if you didn't enjoy this one, but don't be looking for those elements. Just let the movie unfold in it's own, unique style and let it have a life of its own. Maybe a year from now, they'll be comparing some new movie to this one. Who knows?