The Get Out movie review: Russell Crowe is ridiculous as an Albanian nightclub owner in a neo-Noir pastiche comedy

They say that inside every comedian there is an aspiring dramatic actor. And Russell Crowe seems determined to prove otherwise. The Oscar-winning stage actor, who recently gave a well-received performance as Hermann Goering Nuremberghas enjoyed the opportunity to unleash his funny side in recent years with films such as Nice guys and The Pope’s exorcist. The most recent example is Exita neo-noir comic thriller directed by Derek Porte (with whom the actor has worked Derangeda film with a very different tone). As an aging Albanian nightclub owner, Crowe proves consistently delightful even when the material lets him down.

Set in Los Angeles (played by Australia’s Gold Coast, because even films set in Los Angeles can no longer afford to film there), the story revolves around Manko Capac (Crowe), who introduces himself at the beginning of the film via voice-over. “It’s a good job, but long hours,” he tells us about owning a nightclub in Koreatown, explaining that he is considering retirement.

These thoughts are accelerated when he suffers a heart accident during an arduous love spell with his younger girlfriend, Sunny (Teresa Palmer), for which he prepares by taking two Viagra pills. He becomes even more determined to get out of the business when he is robbed by a masked assailant on the street, and offers to sell the club to Joe (Luke Evans), a colorful type who holds business meetings while getting massages and happily performs a gruesome rendition of “Suspicious Minds” for karaoke. (In fact, Evans has recorded several albums and is currently starring on Broadway The Rocky Horror Show).

It turns out that the man who stole the Manco was Jeff (Aaron Paul, who was just as sharp as he was here Very bad), a mild-mannered college professor who writes students’ college application essays and is blackmailed by a crooked cop (Josh McConville). Jeff’s life becomes more complicated when he deposits a large sum of cash into his bank and arouses the suspicions of cashier Carrie (Nina Dobrev), who also blackmails him. It turned out to be a Break point A fanatic likes to commit a robbery while wearing one of the presidential masks featured prominently in the film, so she forces Jeff to make her his partner in crime.

The film is based on the novel by Thomas Perry Stripswears its influences — from Elmore Leonard to Carl Hiaasen to Quentin Tarantino — heavily, without the real intelligence of many of its predecessors. The attempt to blend humor and suspense often feels awkward, with the machinations of the plot straining its believability.

He proves most successful when he’s leaning into goofiness, with Dobrev’s goofy, impassioned performance as a woman aroused by crime and Crowe’s deadpan comic turn as the intense Manco, who, at his girlfriend’s urging, makes a bizarre attempt to relieve his tensions by meditating. The sight of the lumbering actor in tracksuits and sitting cross-legged while listening to a soothing relaxation tape on headphones is priceless. You get the feeling that Crowe wanted to make the movie just for the opportunity to say, “You don’t bleach the Albanian asshole!”

This is the kind of fairly entertaining diversion that will find a natural place on streaming services thanks to its popular cast. Exit It proves to be instantly forgettable. Although it’s worth sitting through the end credits just to hear the Gipsy Kings’ fantastic cover version of the Eagles classic “Hotel California.”