The Whole Nine Yards -- 2000 -- R

Who would have thought a movie with contract killing as a centerpiece would be a comedy? This one actually worked.

You have a mild-mannered (and rather nervous) dentist who has a hitman move in next door to him. He recognizes the hitman from the newspapers the hitman appeared concerning his arrests and crimes, and tells his wife about it. Well, his family life is not so good, and his wife says they should turn him in, and get the reward to pay off some debts. The dentist is not keen on this, but goes to Chicago anyway, not actually planning on contacting anyone. Well, when he is contacted, he is in it up to his eyeballs and doesn't begin to understand why.

This movie uses not only slapstick physical humor, but more than a few plot elements are very funny as well. Serious topics are dealt with in blase fashion, and actions that would be dire and pressing in a thriller are presented almost like punchlines.

The overall plot is well constructed and it has a fair share of twists and turns along the road to keep it interesting. I'd love to discuss these little twists, but if I told you about them, they would be spoilers. The reveal is part of the fun here.

As for characters, we actually get some decently rounded people. There are a lot of characters in the film, but they all get just enough screentime to engage you into their lives. We're not talking Godfather level of development, granted, but they're very understandable.

In the end, it was a very funny and engaging film, and is worth watching.