Val (Al Pacino), Doc (Christopher Walken) and Hirsch (Alan Arkin) go back for seconds (Katheryn Winnick) in "Stand Up Guys." Photo by Saeed Adyani.
Given their reputations as gun-toting tough guys with style, it might be hard to imagine Al Pacino and Christopher Walken as grumpy old men. But after serving 28 years in prison without selling out any of his criminal cohorts, Pacino’s Val has reason to be grumpy in Stand Up Guys. And his old pal Doc (Walken) is just the guy to help him blow off years of pent up frustrations.
Only problem is, Doc is also the guy who has been tasked with offing Val for accidentally shooting the son of crime boss Claphands (Mark Margolis). Of course, Val doesn’t know Doc is the hitman, so his priorities are simple: get laid, have a nice meal and otherwise make up for lots of lost time. And considering the gang-banging lifestyle he was accustomed to before getting locked away, he’s missed out on a lot more action than most of us can imagine.
Doc, on the other hand, has retired from his crime career and has become a bit of a hermit in his older age. And now that the burden of disposing of his best friend is becoming more and more inevitable, his guilt is somewhat apparent to his partying friend. But he still wants to make sure Val’s last few hours are enjoyable, so he employs a few of his old skills (and a good bit of his own cash) to ensure that Val has a fulfilling return to (and impending exit from) the regular world.
Doc and Val redeem themselves for prior indiscretions in "Stand Up Guys." Photo by Saeed Adyani.
Over the course of a few hours, the duo gets into quite a few comical adventures that involve a Russian prostitute, an overdose on erection pills, rescuing a naked girl from the trunk of a stolen car and breaking a third cohort Hirsch (Alan Arkin) out of a retirement home. The banter between Pacino, Walken and Arkin is magnificent, and the tension of Doc’s guilt adds a heavy dose of dark humor to the situation.
As the clock winds down, each man has to come to terms with what’s about to happen. Val goes to confession (and, boy, is that a lot for the priest to take in) while Doc prepares for the finality of what he has been hired to do. And that’s about the time that the duo starts quoting “Rowdy” Roddy Piper from They Live and decides to kick some ass (since they’re all out of bubblegum). And though both men come to terms with the past actions that have led to this point, it ends up being more vindicating than you might imagine. But regardless of where the road ends, this night-long journey allows Val and Doc to relive their youth while also proving their loyalty to one another. And it’s a pretty fun journey to witness.