Chain of Fools (film)
Chain of Fools (also known by its production title "Shiny New Enemies") is a 2000 American heist comedy film, directed by LA-based Swedish production collective, Traktor, starring Steve Zahn, Salma Hayek, David Cross, Jeff Goldblum, and Elijah Wood. Plot. Thomas Kresk is a loser—he isn't good at his job, he's been tossed out of his home, and his wife just dumped him for the marriage counselor. On top of all that, his longtime friend and mentor Gordon Freeman died tragically. Now he's depressed, and contemplating suicide. And yes, things get worse : a criminal named Avnet (Jeff Goldblum) has stolen three priceless coins, and decided to blackmail Bollingsworth (Tom Wilkinson), his billionaire partner in crime. After Kresk overhears this, he almost gets shot—and Avnet ends up impaled on a pair of barbers' scissors. Now Kresk is in a considerably nastier situation, so he steals the gun and the coins. But things take a sharp turn when he hires a hit man named Mikey (Elijah Wood), and discovers that the hit man is only seventeen and emotionally traumatized by his parents' suicide. And that Kresk is falling for the cop/Playboy model  Sgt. Meredith Kolko (Salma Hayek), and that his nephew Scottie (Devin Drewitz) has now swallowed the coins. Now Kresk is in over his head, and has to deal with the strange and sometimes dangerous people around him. Production. The primary filming location was Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Release. "Chain of Fools" was released in theatres on September 22, 2000. "Variety" described the film as "uneven but shows definite signs of promise."