Crash (2004)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

We move ahead two decades for our second film looking at the career of Matt Dillon (a listener suggestion!). This time around, it's a role that nabbed him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 2004's "Crash" written and directed by Academy Award winner Paul Haggis. "Crash" tells a convoluted story of several people, all from different walks of life, whose lives intersect over a 48-hour period in Los Angeles. From carjackers to TV directors to the District Attorney, the film is an exploration of racism, both casual and pointed, and how everyone succumbs to thinking in stereotypes at some point. The film stars Don Cheadle as Graham, an LAPD detective, and Jennifer Esposito as his partner, Ria, Brendan Fraser as Rick, the District Attorney, and his wife Jean, played by Sandra Bullock. We also meet television director Cameron (Terrance Howard) and his wife Christine (Thandiwe Newton) who run afoul of LAPD officers Ryan (Matt Dillon) and his overt racism, which is witnessed by Ryan's partner Officer Hanson (Ryan Phillippe). The DA is carjacked by two professionals, Anthony (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) and Peter (Larenz Tate), which brings Daniel (Michael Pena), a locksmith, to the DA's home who must witness Jean's racist rants. The full plot is too intricate to summarize, but the film also stars Tony Danza, Keith David, William Fichtner, Daniel Day Kim, Mirina Sirtis, and Shaun Toub in a film that everyone should see at least once! Plus, the trio reveal which "Americans Save the World" (said tongue-firmly-in-cheek) films make up their next pairing!