Pseudo Review: 88 Minutes
Let’s get this out of the way right now: 88 Minutes is a bad movie. The story is preposterous and the script is terrible. It includes some of the worst lines of dialogue I’ve ever heard. Check out this little chestnut:
Like some of you here, I have spent those sleepless nights trying desperately to squelch down that vile-ish instinct for revenge. And I have wondered if this pain will ever abate. And I’ve learned that time does not heal the wound, it will though, in its most merciful way, blunt the edge ever so slightly. -Dr Gramm
This movie also has Al Pacino saying semen more times than I’m comfortable with.
Don’t you see someone planted that semen, they took my semen, semen, semen, semen, semensemensemensemensemen.
Pacino plays hot shot forensic psychiatrist/University Professor/FBI expert witness/young lady loving Dr Jack Gramm. Gramm’s testimony was vital in convicting serial killer Jon Foster (Neil McDonough) and having him sentencedto death. Nine years later, Foster is set to be executed, still professingng his innocence and claiming Dr Gramm’s testimony was flawed. Coincidentally, new murders are commited using Foster’s alleged M.O., throwing doubt in to his guilt. Dr Gramm also receives a threatening phone call saying he has 88 minutes to live. And while all this is going on, someone plants evidence that points to Gramm as the real killer. Do you think possibily, just maybe, this could all be related? Apparently the FBI, parole board, and police don’t.
What follows is more ludicrous dialogue and a bunch of Red Herrings thrown in do distract the audience from how bad the movie is. Hey, who’s that mysterious stranger on the motorcycle that seems to be following Dr Gramm? Spoiler Alert: No one important!
As the convoluted plot unfolds, we are witness to a revenge plan so elaborate I began to suspect Jigsaw from SAW must have been involved.
You probably assume I hated the movie. Here’s the weird thing, I didn’t. I can’t say I liked it, but it was never boring. I still love to watch Pacino and their are enough unintentionally funny moments that I was almost, dare I say it, entertained.
Do I recommend it? Well, I can’t really do that in good conscience. I can say if your a fan of Pacino and desperate to see a flick, you might find some perverse pleasure watching this (similar to watching midget porn). I also have a feeling that 88 Minutes may gain cult status, similar to one of the all time great bad movies, Show Girls. Now that, my friends, is high praise indeed.
