DVD Review: Diamond Men (B)

Diamond Men (2001)
Directed by Dan Cohen
Starring Robert Forster, Donnie Wahlberg, Bess Armstrong and Jasmine Guy
MPAA: R
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

Diamond Men is a fantastic buddy picture that despite hitting every cliché in the book, still entertains. Robert Forster (Jackie Brown, Medium Cool) stars and executive produces here and his involvement here must have helped keep the project afloat. A simple, low budget affair, this is not your typical Hollywood studio picture.

Forster plays Eddie Miller, a traveling diamond salesman that has been on the road for thirty years. His wife has passed away and all he has left is his job. The diamond firm wants to lay him off but they allow him to stay on for awhile longer if he trains the energetic puppy of a new salesman, Bobby Walker (played surprisingly well by Donnie Wahlberg). Admittedly, Diamond Men touches on all of the buddy picture cliché's: two guys stuck with each other on a road trip. They initially don't get along, but as time passes, they learn a little from each other, and end up friends. But the acting and dialogue here are so good that its easy to overlook these shortcomings and just enjoy the ride.

Diamond Men also picks up some steam as the stars spend a little time at Altoona's Riding Club, a small brothel that they hit on the way to and from the road. Eddie meets Katie (Bess Armstrong) and Bobby spends some time with the brothel's madam, Tina (played by Jasmine Guy). The gentlemen show softer sides with the ladies than they do with each other, and these interactions bring out the subtleties of each character.

They only thing really keeping Diamond Men down is the obvious low budget conditions under which the film appears shot. The direction seems a bit haphazard, and several scenes (especially the opening scenes at the Diamond company's offices) appear edited too quickly. Forster is one of those actors that can carry an entire scene, so let him do it! Longer takes would have served this film well, and a little more creative art direction and music could have gone a long way. However, none of these issues bring the film down too much. Diamond Men is still a very entertaining film with some excellent acting (Forster is always good, but who would have expected this from former New Kid Donnie Wahlberg?).

A buddy movie with a nice touch of class, Diamond Men is worth a look.

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