The Devil's Advocate [1997]

[Cross-posted on the Bad Movie Night Facebook page.]

Full disclosure: this movie isn't bad per se. It is bad-ish but at the same time it's not bad in the same way that most things we watch are bad. It's competently made and the plot isn't exactly terrible and there are some real actors in it like Charlize Theron and Al Pacino. It's just so darn silly. And I think in some ways we are still recovering from the boredom we suffered at the hands of "Holy Terror" and "Howard The Duck" and were hankering for something that we knew would be more amusing than painful. Adam and Kay had both seen it before so there was definite comfort in knowing what to expect.

Magically animated wood craving Keanu Reeves plays Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax with a disappearing accent, no morals, a super religious mom, and a healthy relationship with his wife Mary Ann. One day he gets an offer from a New York lawyer to come pick a jury since his total ruthlessness really gets around. Soon he's working at a fancy New York law firm under an eccentric named John Milton, not to be confused with the poet who wrote a fairly sympathetic portrayal of the devil in "Paradise Lost". In this soulless environment known as NYC, Mary Ann starts to lose her mind and see demons in her new friends eventually leading to her committing suicide in a mental hospital after saying Milton demonically raped her. Reeves tries desperately to emote as he starts to realize he may not be as unfeeling as he seems while becoming more suspicious of Milton. Turns out, Milton is the devil and also Kevin's father and what he wants more than anything is for Kevin and another lawyer at the firm who is his half-sister to bang and bring about the anti-christ. There's also a triple homicide case going on in the background and Jeffery Jones gets demonically murdered but really everyone's just waiting for Al Pacino to admit that he's Satan. The spoiler exists before you even watch the film.

In a similar fashion as "Dungeons & Dragons" and "After Earth" there is an amusing dichotomy between the two lead actors where one is chewing all the scenery and the other can barely move their face muscles. It's hard to tell whether Reeves or Pacino provides more comedy. The whole thing is so over-the-top ridiculous that it's honestly really worth a watch if that's the kind of thing you want.

Quotes:
"Where does he sleep?"
"Who said he sleeps?"
"Where does he fuck?"
"EVERYWHERE!"

(Mary Ann is yelling)
Kevin: "Stop. Reset."

"What about love?"
"Overrated! Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate."

Also at one point Kevin shares the secret to his success: a hole in the men's bathroom . . . through which he can hear deliberations.

Have some dramatic Pacino faces:

"AHH!"

"AHHHHH!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

"I'm okay."

 And a goofy Keanu: