vincentlynch-moonoi This is not the worst film I ever saw. But it was in the competition.This film makes a mistake many suspense films make -- there is no character that the audience can really root for. Every character here is sleazy and a poor excuse for a human being. In fact, I feel dirty from just watching this film.When I began watching, I thought this film showed some promise as a thriller. It didn't take long for the film to descend into not just violent behavior, but I would say deviant behavior. And there's a difference between violence and suspense. And, in the ending, my contention that each of the characters is pathetic is confirmed.However, there is one good thing to say about the film -- the acting is decent. In my view, Josh Brolin is a very good actor, and I think he does very well here. This film, however, was made in his early years before he was a known quantity.I am not familiar with Alessandro Nivola at all, but his acting here was quite good. He seems to have a decent career; I'll have to watch for him.And then we come to Reese Witherspoon. I think Witherspoon is a good actress, and she is effective here, although this was also, for her, before she became well known. There's always been something that made me uncomfortable with Witherspoon, even though I acknowledge her acting ability. I can't explain it, but I felt it more so in this film.Do I recommend this film? No, unless you just want to see 3 actors in their early careers.Am I glad I watched it? No. Will I watch it again. Never.It flopped, and there are reasons for that.

bh_tafe3 Well, Reese Witherspoon is in this, Josh Brolin looks more nerdy than he ever has before or since and Pollax Troy (Alessandro Nivola) talks like a normal human being in this wannabe noir that is not quite as clever as it thinks it is.If I went through the whole plot, we could be here for a while, so, in a nutshell it's about a young couple Nick (Nivola) and Lissa (Witherspoon) who try to blackmail their friend Bryce (Brolin) into allowing them to steal a rare Abraham Lincoln signed "Bill of Release" from a mansion Bryce is minding. The path the film takes to get us into the mansion, and then out and to the finish line is particularly convoluted and, while the resolution doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence, it will leave many asking "is that it?" The film has the typical late 90s indie style, with a lot happening in darkness and little lighting. Some of the staging is obvious, but is in general effective at establishing mood and maintaining the desired atmosphere.On the acting side, Nivola is a long way from Face/ Off and a lot more at home as our down-on-his-luck loser protagonist. He manages to keep his character sympathetic throughout, in spite of being a deeply flawed human being. Josh Brolin is deliberately cringeworthy as the unlikeable, socially inept Bryce, while Witherspoon is decent as Lissa, a character I had a hard time connecting with at all through no fault of hers. Every actor seems aware of the type of movie they've signed on for.Best Laid Plans is a pretty small movie, and not essential viewing, but it does do enough right to be an enjoyable viewing experience, if a little light upon repeat viewings.

gavin6942 A seemingly simple plan to steal money goes increasingly awry.We get Reese Witherspoon and Josh Brolin (who would later reunite in "Inherent Vice") and some other people. And we get them before they got really big. So that is something special, especially because this film seems to have largely gone under the radar."Best Laid Plans" received mixed reviews from critics and currently holds a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This is somewhat understandable, because the plot is not as clear as it perhaps should be, and at times the acting borders on the melodramatic. But the overly story is good, and looking back now (2015) there is much to like from these up-and-coming actors.

callanvass This is an excellent thriller, that's quite suspenseful and tense, with some great plot twists, and top notch performances!. All the characters are awesome, and the story is really good as well, plus Reese Witherspoon is simply amazing in this!. Alessandro Nivola is fantastic as the main lead and had excellent chemistry with Reese, and Josh Brolin plays the irritating prick of a professor extremely well, plus It's very unpredictable throughout. It's also nicely old fashioned, and it's very well written and made, plus the ending was completely unexpected, as I absolutely loved it!. One part that was quite tense and me cringe was when the main villain(Terrence Howard), spays pop up a guy's nose, and you are able to care for Nivola's and Reese's characters because you know there both good people and need to do this to get out of a bad situation, plus it's a great film/noir film as well. This is a true underrated gem in my opinion, and it's also quite creepy at times as well, plus It's also quite clever as well. This is an excellent thriller, that's quite suspenseful and tense, with some great plot twists, and top notch performances, and I say it's a must see for everyone!. The Direction is excellent!. Mike Barker does an excellent! job here with awesome camera work, very good angles, adding creepy atmosphere and keeping the film suspenseful and at a very fast pace. The Acting is top notch!. Alessandro Nivola is fantastic as the main lead, he is extremely likable, had excellent chemistry with Reese, and was very intense in some scenes, I have never seen him In anything before, but he was fantastic here, I loved him!. Reese Witherspoon is amazing as always and is amazing here, she is stunningly gorgeous, is extremely likable, had fantastic chemistry with Nivola, was incredibly sweet, as she is especially good in the opening segment as that was a real intense one, she was just a normal down too earth type of woman, and was very believable! (Reese rules!!!!!!!!!!). Josh Brolin is extremely convincing as the prick of a professor, he was very irritating and only cared about himself, I hated him, he was really good. Terrence Howard is good in his scenes as the villain, and was quite menacing. Rest of the cast are fine. Overall a must see for everyone!. ****1/2 out of 5