Wow! Such a good movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Are you fan of dark comedies? Do you enjoy films about Hit men? If you answered yes to these questions you will most likely enjoy this film. This movie shows the rise & fall between these two cold blooded characters. It's really fascinating to see how they both change with each kill. There is a great mix of violence & humor in "Jerry and Tom". Written by Rick Cleveland based on his play (Runaway Jury & Six Feet Under) & directed by long time actor Saul Rubinek (Frasier, The Contender, Death Wish V, True Romance, & Unforgiven) in his debut. It really stands out from all those other flicks about contract killers. You need to check out this unknown gem....Now on to the cast/characters....First we got Jerry played by Sam Rockwell (Choke, Matchstick Men, Welcome to Collinwood, Heist, The Green Mile, Safe Men, Lawn Dogs, Box of Moon Light, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, & Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) he's a newcomer to the contract killer business who ends up loving his job a little too much plus he's not that smart. Then we got Tom played by Joe Mantegna (House of Games, The Godfather: Part III, Homicide, Bugsy, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Airheads, Albino Alligator, Thinner, The Last Don 1/2, Joan of Arcadia, Criminal Minds, & The Simpsons -Fat Tony-) he's the veteran of the duo who teaches Jerry everything he knows about contract killing. Then there's the supporting cast of Maury Chaykin (Death Hunt, The Hunt for the BTK Killer, Nero Wolfe Mystery, Sugartime, Devil in a Blue Dress, & Twins) as Billy, he's the boss who sets everything up plus he owns the car dealership they work at when their not killing people. Then there's his long time partner Vic played by Charles Durning (The Sting, Breakheart Pass, Sisters, Dog Day Afternoon, The Fury, When a Stranger Calls, The Hudsucker Proxy, Evening Shade, State and Main, & Rescue Me) who's a former contract killer himself who actually taught Tom everything he knows. He may or may not have killed JFK, Elvis, and a bunch of other celebs plus he wants to write a book about it. Plus we get some great cameos from their victims such as Ted Danson, William H. Macy, Peter Riegert, & Sarah Polley.

I enjoyed "Jerry and Tom" quite a bit. The acting and character development is great. Joe Mantegna, Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Charles Durning, Peter Riegert, and others, contribute their talents. The car lot fronting for a murder for hire business is intriguing but the attempts at black comedy mostly misfire, probably due to the very grim motivation of the contract killers. If on the other hand they had been partners saving their blood money to constantly keep expanding the automobile business, that would have lifted this black comedy to greatness, simply by making the plot more outrageous. Financing a restaurant, just by killing people, worked wonders for "Eating Raoul" and that is what is missing here. - MERK

Worth renting, but not buying.The plot is absolutely, 100%, stone-cold predictable simply from the premise. Still, Rubinek does an excellent job with his main gimmick for the film...smooth, seamless scene transitions between different time periods and geographic locations. They are worth waiting for.The movie is a black comedy, but I didn't really find much humor in the wry situations. I'm not sure if they were not-enough or a little-too-much.Mantegna goes a bit overboard in playing the laid-back "button man" as part-philosopher and part-salesman, but he does an adequate job. Sam Rockwell fares better as the kid who grows into the profession, enjoying it a bit more than he probably should. His desire to do something in a way that's "different" reminds me of a newly-wed couple looking for that new sexual position.Durning is wasted in his role, as we never take him seriously as a threat to anyone, much less as a stone-cold killer. Chaykin fares better as a basically inscrutable "boss" who pulls the strings through some sort of managerial fog.The cameos by Macy and Danson are good, but a bit strained. We're so busy watching them as victims in inescapable circumstances that we don't keep them in the proper perspective. The bit parts they play are overwhelmed by our expectations.I enjoyed the movie, but, if you really want an interesting take on the "old hit-man bringing along a younger guy", try ,"Cohen & Tate" (1989), which I find has much more interesting dynamics between the protagonists.

Jerry and Tom are two hit men who engage in clever banter before brutally killing people. This movie has been described as a black comedy. I found it brutal and distasteful. It treated cold blooded murder lightheartedly. The audience is subjected to short, repetitive vignettes featuring the violent ways used to kill the victims. We are also lured in to care for the victim and their plight before the killers kill them. The killers show no remorse for their actions. Are we in turn taught to have no remorse for brutality? Are we to be charmed by the killers and ignore the unfeeling, inhuman treatment of the victims? What did the victims do to deserve their fate? We are never told. Is it no surprise that young people can kill and exhibit no remorse for their actions. To them isn't a High School just another vignette. Joe Mantegna plays his usual Mafia-type hood and Sam Rockwell plays a slovenly, moronic thug who becomes increasingly mean through the movie. This could have been a much better movie if the killings and the various inhumane methods used were kept off screen. We know they were hit men and we know, from their frequent inclusion in Hollywood films, what they do, so why dwell on the act instead of on the story. Maybe the story was the brutality. This movie's celebration of killing and matter-of-fact brutality combined with its light tone desensitizes its audience. We are victims of this movie.