Hoodlum

Laurence Fishburne, before he went all leathery and Morpheus on us in THE MATRIX, did double duty as real life Harlem mobster Bumpy Johnson, once in THE COTTON CLUB and in an expanded role here in HOODLUM. He's supposed to be the star and to a certain degree he is yet he does have an ample amount of his thunder stolen by Tim Roth. Roth as Dutch Schultz is a wonder to behold here and though he's done finer work I'd argue none of it is as enjoyable as this. HOODLUM is not the greatest film you'll come across but the Roth performance more than makes up for any of it's flaws. We get a fine support role from Andy Garcia and the great Mike Starr and his brother Beau have a great gig as a couple of hitmen. Good, fast paced fun which should be enjoyed by most.