Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995)

Directed by Jack Baran. Starring Dylan McDermott, Nancy Travis, James LeGros, Jim Belushi, David Cross, Quentin Tarantino, Allen Garfield, Barry Shabaka Henley, Richard Edson, Bobcat Goldthwait, Tracey Walter. [R]

There was no shortage of Tarantino-knockoffs in the mid-to-late 90s, and here’s one that co-stars the man himself. He plays a mysterious and otherworldly cat named Johnny Destiny (only in the movies…) who occasionally pops up to say a vague line or two, then disappears. The central story concerns prison escapee McDermott, his partner LeGros, his main squeeze Travis, her big-shot beau Belushi, bank robbery loot, a seemingly unexplainable pregnancy, a talent scout looking for a singer, and a swimming pool that might be a portal into the unknown. A lot of nonsense packaged in an artificially “hip” and stylized way, full of unimpressive performances, crawling along at a deadly pace. Anyone who doesn’t buy into the movie’s mystical mumbo-jumbo is sure to hate the ending; anyone who likes to be entertained is sure to hate the rest. First film role for Cross.

27/100