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Cast: Willie Garson, Dabney Coleman, Samuel Gould, Edward Asner, Bryan Cranston, Ed Begley Jr., Richard Steven Horvitz, Paula Prentiss, John Getz, Ian Abercrombie
When legendary gambler Golden Hands Segal suffers a fatal heart attack at the craps table in Las Vegas, his grandson Freddy Meingold and boyhood pal Spencer Ragusa have less than 24 hours to retrieve the body for burial in New Jersey.
As the film opens we are introduced to the main characters as they are being questioned by the police over a missing body. Setting the film up this way immediately grabs your attention simply because you want to know the who, what and where on this missing body so right away you are hooked at least for the time being. The film then switches to Ed Asner's character, Gold Hands Segal at the craps table. After rolling a hard four the one di doesn't rest flat on the table and while arguing over it he suffers a fatal heart attack. After being notified, grandson Spenser Ragusa and his buddy Freddy must find a way to get from L.A. to Vegas, and then because of Jewish tradition, get the grandfather's body back east within 24 hours for a proper funeral. To give anymore of the story away would ruin it for those wanting to see it but I can tell you this is one of the more complex comedies I have seen. There are numerous characters in the film and each and every one of them have their own motives, the film isn't confusing but you certainly have to pay mention to keep track of what everyone is doing. The acting here is a mix bag, there is some very good acting and some not so good but for what the film is the cast did a fine job. Ed Asner had more of a cameo role since he died in the beginning of the film and there were other great cameos as well from stars like, Dabney Coleman, Bryan Cranston and Ed Begley which really gave the film more star power. The story might be far-fetched but it never seemed to matter with all the chaos and fun happening, Hard Four is one of those little gems that if given the chance most are going to find it to be a fast paced comedy that delivers on laughs. I really enjoyed this much more than I expected to so I was pleasantly surprised and I like anyone that is a fan of comedy will find it to be very entertaining as well.
Released by Virgil Films
*** 1/2 Out Of *****