108 minutes too long, in fact. But we’ll get to that in a moment. First, a proper and customary plot recap.
Proper And Customary Plot Recap
What would you do if you received a threatening phone call informing you that you had only minutes to live? Probably not what Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) does in 88 Minutes, as he’s a bit eccentric (and a bit of a bad-ass to boot). But then again, he’s used to this type of thing. As a forensic scientist who also happens to teach a college course, his past is littered with all sorts of threats from those he’s convicted and those connected to them. Having lost a loved one and blaming himself for the loss, he’s also no stranger to emotional turmoil.
After testifying against convicted serial killer Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) in court, Gramm receives a foreboding promise from the shady convict as he’s leaving the courtroom: “Tick tock doc, tick tock”, he warns. A silly motto for the movie, yes, but as the viewers chuckle, Gramm gets a chill. Nine years later, another body curiously turns up having been tortured and hung upside-down by one leg in the same trademark fashion as the previous ones, casting doubt on the initial conviction (and Dr. Gramm’s professional opinion). Compounding matters, Jack receives a call on his cell phone informing him that he has but 88 minutes to live. “Tick tock dock. […] You know how long 88 minutes is, don’t you, Jack?” Asks the digitally-altered voice. He checks his watch and then turns his secretary Shelly (Amy Brenneman) loose on the situation, demanding a trace of the last call and background checks for several people close to the situation.
As he steps to the front of his class to begin the day’s lesson, paranoia begins to set in when he receives multiple follow-up phone calls and an ominous message on his overhead projector counting down the minutes to his supposed death. Gramm storms around the classroom, questioning his own students as to their involvement in the “prank.” But with every new signal the gravity of the situation becomes increasingly evident.
At first glance…
If it sounds compelling, that’s no surprise; the basic concept of this would-be thrilling whodunit is intriguing. It’s everything else that immediately kills it in 88 Minutes. The reality of the situation is that this is a low-budget film and it shows—although low-budget doesn’t necessarily equal bad. Unfortunately, 88 Minutes is both: it’s a really bad B-Movie starring Al Pacino. If not for his involvement, it would have certainly gone directly to video and probably flown well under the radar. The rest of the acting is ho-hum, mostly unconvincing, and the screenplay generally seems artificial and forced. Awkward dialogue and goofy action sequences—such as one where a speeding fire truck prompts a rolling dodge by our hero (huh?)—don’t go well together. Bad actors don’t help matters either, and that’s what we get from the very start with a legendarily bland roommate dialogue (and murder) featuring some genuinely bad actresses. Even Al Pacino drones through the film rather unemotionally, and thanks to the scripting, his character often seems more narcissistic and woozy than fearless.
But just when you’ve resolved to casually ignore all of these problems and simply try to enjoy the story, along comes that godforsaken phenomenon known as logic, leading to the sweeping realization that the entire basis of the plot makes absolutely no sense. Throughout the entire film, someone’s out there trying to end Pacino’s life at every turn—while simultaneously counting down the minutes from 88. But for all of the trouble they’ve gone through planning this stupidly complex scenario, they never took the time to consider that had any of their numerous attempts to kill Gramm succeeded, his life would have ended well before the 88 minutes had expired, thus devaluing the entire effort. Oops!
Not to mention the fact that the choice of culprit is completely unimaginative. Even the back of the box reveals that it’s a copycat killer at work (which I suppose would be a spoiler if it weren’t already so painfully obvious), and it’s immediately apparent that this killer is being puppeted by the evil Jon Forster from his rosy spot in federal prison. But from there, it’s almost as if the writer just randomly fingered the killer from amongst all the characters in the film without any particular rhyme or reason. No logic is provided to support the choice of perpetrator. As such, there is no “aha!” moment; merely an “oh.” It’s a terribly unthrilling experience for a thriller.
To be perfectly frank, there are very few redeeming qualities to be found in 88 Minutes at all. Nearly everything about it is either nonsensical or simply substandard (or both). It wouldn’t have surprised me to see Crow T. Robot waltz out in front of the screen and start lobbing riffs—that’s the kind of movie this is. In spite of Pacino’s involvement, this is authentic, unadulterated camp.
Let us all hope that things turn out better for director Jon Avnet upon the theatrical release of his upcoming crime drama, Righteous Kill (in theaters September 12)… because 88 Minutes is simply a train wreck from start to finish.
Special Features
While it’s true the film is a bit of a disaster, ironically, fans of Al Pacino may actually find something of interest in the special features, where much of the discussion centers on his legacy and unique breed of expertise.
Director’s Point of View (7:46) – The director (Jon Avnet) talks about spending time with Holocaust victims to try and understand how they’ve recuperated since the tragedy. He also references his style of directing as almost an encouragement of improvisation, which might explain the—ahem—rough quality of some of the scenes.
The Character Within (7:48) – Al Pacino discusses his character in the film and how much fun he had working with the cast. He also talks about how difficult the concept of the movie is thanks to the “almost illogical” happenings at some points during the film (see above). At least Pacino recognizes this massive downfall of the plot, but it’s still sad to see him rationalizing when he’s typically so good at what he does.
Alternate Ending – This actually isn’t all that much different from the regular ending, but it does run several minutes longer, and thus it provides additional closure (and a somewhat vapid closing monologue from Pacino). Why anyone would want to see any part of this film twice is beyond me.
Audio Commentary – Director Jon Avnet delivers a respectably insightful and wholly undeserved commentary that focuses as much on what it’s like to work with a legendary actor like Pacino as it does on everything else combined. Fans of Pacino will enjoy his stories (he mentions, for instance, that although he had felt .
Commentary is very insightful; among the interesting topics director Jon Avnet covers here are the initial embarrassment of shooting much of the film handheld, with the camera “in Al’s face”. It’s clear from the director’s input that he has great respect for Al Pacino as an actor, and some of the stories he tells of his character are pretty captivating here, especially if you’re a fan yourself.