Clay Pigeons has all the ingredients of a first rate film; Outstanding acting by Joaquin Phoenix (before he became a superstar) and Janeane Garafaolo (before she became a left wing stooge); Vince Vaughan in one of the great performances of his or any career; a leitmotif of outstanding country music that perfectly sets the mood throughout the picture; laugh out loud dialog; and, last but not least, gorgeous half-naked women.
Alas, the movie's shortcomings, from start to finish, are too great to overlook. The incident upon which the whole plot depends is a suicide that the victim has made to look like a murder by Clay (Phoenix), who had been having an affair with the dead man's wife. Never mind that the victim's fingerprints are all over the gun - Clay panics and pushes the victim and his truck over a cliff rather than admit to the affair and report the truth. What makes this decision all the more ludicrous is that we later learn that the sheriff and Clay are old buds. When evidence from two murders that happen consequential to the initial incident point definitively to Clay as the killer, the sheriff still refuses to believe that he is guilty.
Everything else about the story is pretty ridiculous, too. How did the murder weapon get into Clay's fireplace? And, wouldn't the murderer have placed it in a more obvious location, since his whole point was to set up Clay? How does Clay know where to find the murderer when he escapes from jail? How does Agent Shelby (Garafaolo) know where to go, and why would she go alone after a serial killer who's about twice her size? Why does Clay misdirect Shelby when she gets there? Why is the last bit of trickery, when Lester(Vaughan) thinks he's taking a ride to New Mexico with "Robert" necessary? And on and on.
If you're looking for a night's worth of entertainment, you can do a lot worse than Clay Pigeons. The problem is, Clay Pigeons is a lot worse than it should have been.
Alas, the movie's shortcomings, from start to finish, are too great to overlook. The incident upon which the whole plot depends is a suicide that the victim has made to look like a murder by Clay (Phoenix), who had been having an affair with the dead man's wife. Never mind that the victim's fingerprints are all over the gun - Clay panics and pushes the victim and his truck over a cliff rather than admit to the affair and report the truth. What makes this decision all the more ludicrous is that we later learn that the sheriff and Clay are old buds. When evidence from two murders that happen consequential to the initial incident point definitively to Clay as the killer, the sheriff still refuses to believe that he is guilty.
Everything else about the story is pretty ridiculous, too. How did the murder weapon get into Clay's fireplace? And, wouldn't the murderer have placed it in a more obvious location, since his whole point was to set up Clay? How does Clay know where to find the murderer when he escapes from jail? How does Agent Shelby (Garafaolo) know where to go, and why would she go alone after a serial killer who's about twice her size? Why does Clay misdirect Shelby when she gets there? Why is the last bit of trickery, when Lester(Vaughan) thinks he's taking a ride to New Mexico with "Robert" necessary? And on and on.
If you're looking for a night's worth of entertainment, you can do a lot worse than Clay Pigeons. The problem is, Clay Pigeons is a lot worse than it should have been.