Benicio must love Monk.

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2001)

A lot of people liked "The Usual Suspects". I have to admit, I was one of them. But when I happened to view the movie again a few weeks ago, something struck me that for whatever reason did not the first time.
During the interrogation scene near the beginning of the film, the cops are trying to shake down Benicio Del Toro's character, Fred Fenster. One of the responses that Fenster gives is "It will flip you, I mean flip you for real." My jaw immediately hit the floor. The line, the mannerisms, the timing were all taken from the quasi-documentary about Thelonious Monk's life, "Straight, No Chaser." Check out the Monk film and you will find not only the line, verbatim, in a restaraunt scene, but you will also see most of the mannerisms that Del Toro used in "Usual Suspects."
This rather obvious homage to one of my favorite musicians made me like Del Toro a bit more. Maybe it will inspire fans of "The Ususal Suspects" to check out the film on Monk and perhaps listen to some of the best music this country has to offer.