A fun little film!
Take two guys who cannot stand to be defeated by anyone at anything, put them in a pressure-packed room together, and see what happens. This is the funny premise behind Pushing Tin, a black comedy from 20th Century Fox. "Anything you can do, I can do better." You know the song.
The film's curious title is a reference to the job of air traffic controllers. They push tin, i.e. they move flights in and out of crowded airspace. Here, we are talking about the extremely congested airspace above three major airports: Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark. Therefore, this is not a job for the weak of heart. The air traffic control center is littered with rejects who couldn't handle the stress.
John Cusack plays Nick Falzone, the best controller of the bunch. Nicknamed "the Zone," Nick can move air traffic about like no one you've ever seen. That is, until Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) comes to town. Suddenly Nick has stiff competition. Russell is both talented and charismatic. Like Woody in Toy Story, Nick cannot stand the idea of Buzz Lightyear, i.e. the new kid in town, getting all his richly-deserved attention and praise. In the beginning, the stakes are rather low. A quick race at a stop light. A game of chicken with burning matches. Then free throws. After that, however, the situation begins to build. Nick and Russell begin competing against each other at work. They take a dangerous drive together through the city at top speeds. Nick begins comparing his wife (Cate Blanchett) to Russell's wife (Angeline Jolie), and he finds himself dissatisfied. "Why can't I have his wife?" Nick seems to be thinking. Before long, Nick is completely obsessed with beating Russell, while Russell only eggs things on further. There are primitive forces at play here, and you get the feeling someone is bound to get hurt.
Pushing Tin is a funny film in its own dark way. Written by television veterans Glen and Les Charles, the screenplay skillfully places interesting characters into a deliciously wicked plot. As Nick and Russell go about marking their territory, we cannot help but laugh. Why? I guess it's because at one time or another, we have all seen such ridiculous competitions taking place. We see shades of this at work, at school, on the golf course, and even among siblings. In fact, many of us have been willing participants, at least on a smaller scale.
While I liked this screenplay, the plot does break down a bit towards the end. I think the biggest problem is Cate Blanchett's role. Her character is key to the resolution of this story, but the screenplay seems to take her for granted. She becomes somewhat of an afterthought, and that fact shines through in the final scenes (Ms. Blanchett still manages to turn in a splendid performance, however). Additionally, the final showdown between our competitive stars is a letdown, and we are left with a storybook ending that doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the movie.
Still, Pushing Tin left me pleasantly surprised. It is a fun little film, which is made even more enjoyable because of the presence of Cusack, Blanchett, and the always-interesting Billy Bob ThorntonRead full review
