Pups (1999)

Review by All Movie Guide
Pups is an intense and provocative film about two suburban teens who impulsively rob a local bank. Writer/director Ash does a good job of capturing the ennui that drives these kids to their extreme action, and the tension among those caught in the ensuing hostage crisis. This kind of hostage drama has been done before, from The Petrified Forest to Dog Day Afternoon, but the fact that the criminals in Pups are in their early teens gives the film a topical edge. Unfortunately for the filmmakers, several real-life school shootings took place while Pups was on the festival circuit. Despite the attention the film got for its prescience and its insight into the phenomenon of teen violence and the fact that it's clearly aimed at an adult audience, distributors were probably concerned that picking up the film would make them look irresponsible or insensitive. The film is, for the most part, an effective ensemble piece. The performances are uneven, but there's particularly solid work from James Gordon as J.P., an irritable bank teller, and Darling Narita (who was also impressive in Ash's debut feature Bang) as Joy, a cool customer. Burt Reynolds, the only real "name" in the film, is also good as the beleaguered FBI man Bender, and Kurt Loder is very amusing playing himself, as the authorities comply with the two young criminals' demand to be on MTV. That said, the success of this claustrophobic crime drama completely hinges on the performances of Cameron Van Hoy as Stevie and Mischa Barton as his less enthusiastic partner in crime, Rocky. Van Hoy poignantly puts across Stevie's apparent attention deficit and his inarticulate hostility toward the world of adults. If Stevie didn't seem like such a real and basically ordinary teen, the film wouldn't be so compelling. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide