Stark Raving Mad Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
It's all about being in the wrong place at the right time
Blood Money. Deadly Heist. Some things can make a guy crazy.
Ben (Seann William Scott) has some major debts and intends to rob a bank, under cover of the big rave party he is going to host. The whole point is that the club is located next to the bank where the valuable statue adorns the hall. The rave show will last for seven hours, it should be enough to disguise all attempts break the wall, penetrate into the bank and to still the statue. But there are more obstacles on their way then a simple wall: they should struggle with a cranky club owner, Chinese mafia, Irish thugs, crazed transvestites and a horny teen girl.
| Monet Mazur | Vanessa |
| Seann William Scott | Ben McGewen |
| Patrick Breen | Jeffrey Jay |
| Terry Chen | Jin Sun |
| John B. Crye | Jake Nealson |
| Dave Foley | Roy |
| Paul Hungerford | Scott |
| Suzy Nakamura | Betty Shin |
| Timm Sharp | Rikki Simms |
| Kavan Smith | Michael Frakes |
| Lou Diamond Phillips | Gregory |
| Jody Racicot | D.J. |
| Yee Jee Tso | Chan (Gang Member #1) |
| Ty Olsson | Nate (Goon) |
| Carl McDonald | Mitchell (Trannie) |
| Drew Daywalt |
| David Schneider |
6.30 out of 10 (1464 votes)
Visitor Reviews
A Film that deserves better in the UK
posted on 05 Jul 2009Having seen this through a rental release, i think this is a film that deserved much more. For a film that only got a rental release, it seems to be a cut above the rest of many rental releases and perhaps some movies that have released at the cinema.I noticed this movie for the John Digweed crafted soundtrack, and was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the film itself.I could go on for hours about how great i think the whole film is, from the soundtrack to the cast, and to the writer/directors however, i will take up too much space doing so.However, hats off to to Drew Daywalt and David Schneider who have crafted, along with everyone else who worked on the film, a film that deserves much better treatment.ten out of ten, two thumbs up etc etc etc
Brill flick.
posted on 05 Dec 2008I heard about this film starring Seann William Scott who is a fave actor of mine, hunted the internet for days to get hold of it and wasn't disappointed when it arrived. Fast-paced, high tempo entertainment starring Seann William Scott as the guy who goes to extreme measures to help his pal pay off a debt. Scott is great as usual in this role which is more serious than his previous roles. Which is good so he doesn't get cast-typed as Stifler. The film also has a good rave soundtrack which adds to the tempo of the film. This may have been difficult to buy but it was well worth the hunt. An excellent, highly recommended flick which you should see if you get the chance.
Who Was This Film Made For ?...
posted on 18 Sep 2008... Probably that guy from MEMENTO who had an attention span of sixty seconds or someone who thinks MTV is one of the movie channels ! STARK RAVING MAD starts with a sequence of a guy in the African veldt who gives the middle finger to a lion . No doubt this film takes its title from this scene because it has absolutely nothing to do with the movie which feels like it was directed by a cocaine cartel . After a bizarre title sequence featuring wild animals the film turns into a heist thriller that blatantly rips off the style of Guy Ritchie I've no idea how STARK RAVING MAD got such a high average rating because I found it entirely irritating with its jarring jump cuts and its totally unconvincing characters who try to come across as cool but end up being totally unrealistic . A lot of people on this page have mentioned that Seann William Scott is their favourite actor which makes me wonder if the only films they have seen are Scott's home movie collection but seeing as Lou Diamond Phillips is in it then Scott is assured of only giving the second worst performance Before everyone hits the no button on the " was this review helpful to you ? " let me add that if you're a mainstream audience film fan then it won't appeal to you . Likewise if you like movies where the cast can go five seconds without using the F word then you probably won't want to watch this either . The fact that two people are credited with both writing and directing STARK RAVING MAD should tell you a lot about it
One of the few films I've stopped watching
posted on 07 Apr 2008About a heist, perpetrated under the cover of a rave.The look of the lead character, and the scenes of fast cars at the beginning give it a lot of promise, with a good idea and some action, but the film soon slowed, became repetitive and then relied on a series of clichéd moments for effect.Some of these ancillary plot lines are rather tacky. They include alternative forms of sex, including with a 16 yr old, and drink-spiking.Personally I would have rated this as an 18.We stopped watching after an hour and I am terribly sorry, but I have to say it was one of the worst films I have ever seen.
anyone know then name of the Chinese song at the end?
posted on 19 Feb 2008the song that is sung in Chinese and is being played as the robbery team make their escape from the club! cant find it in credits!! and not being very fluent in Chinese the only word i picked up was sianarrah which of course means goodbye. did n e one else who saw this movie totally wanna nail kitten till the discovery of her age? i think underage girls should b tagged or something so statutory rape is impossible, i have seen enough unwanted teenage pregnancies to know the world is heading to hell in a hand-basket!!! when you see a 12 year old girl dressed like a dirty street tart u cant help but wonder where are the parents!! not dat i really care but i had to fill up 10 lines otherwise i couldn't post my question!
The Chinatown club
posted on 11 Nov 2007Never heard about this film, but it looked promising. The main attraction was Seann William Scott, the lead actor. As the film started and in the credits we saw two names, immediately we thought this film had been disowned by the studio as it appeared it went to DVD before its commercial release."Stark Raving Mad" turned out to be a surprise. Sure, it could have been better, but actually, it keeps the viewer involved in all that is going on. The club in Chinatown where the action takes place is next to a bank and Ben and his partners are trying to rob it. The club owner, Don Partridge, doesn't want the noise to go too loud, but that is exactly what Ben and his men are capitalizing on because they have to use explosives in order to get to the bank.In the meantime, everything that could go wrong, happens. The wrong DJ shows for the job. There are a couple of albums that Ben wants to be played at certain times, as they are blasting the walls. Unknown to Ben, the place has been infiltrated by the FBI. Because Ben is instrumental in saving an undercover agent, he gets this man's good will. The plan is clever, but it has a lot of risks. Ultimately, the gang is able to do the job and fool Gregory, a sadist criminal, and the Chinatown gang that thinks they can get their hands in the loot.Seann William Scott makes a wonderful Ben. Mr. Scott, who has worked on comedies before, shows he knows what he is doing and at the same time shows a range that was hard to imagine he had. Tim Sharp, who plays Rikki, Ben's closest associate, has some good moments. Lou Diamond Phillips is perfectly villainous as Gregory. Adam Arkin is seen as the owner of the club in which the action takes place.Directors Drew Daywalt and David Schneider, who also collaborated on the screen play, clearly demonstrate they know how to stage the heist and both seem to be having fun with the young cast they gathered.
A quite good film
posted on 29 Jan 2007I saw the film because I wanted to see what it was like to see a movie with JOHN DIGWEED doing the score, so I was not
surprised when the music and sound was of high quality, but beyond that, the film was well made and the film makers are to be congratulated. I have not enjoyed a movie of this genre this much since Pulp Fiction. I was therefore not surprised to see here on IMDB that one of the producers was also the producer of PULP FICTION. It also seems the same producers of this film did MEMENTO as well. Stark Raving Mad certainly keeps up with both of those previous films. I have looked for the sound track though and it is not for sale yet. Also, great job to Digweed ffor a solid followup to GROOVE. The music drives this fast paced film and the editing and directing were indeed very good as well. This movie a must see, and when it comes to DVD - a must-own for digweed fans.
Straight to video isn't a fair deal for this movie
posted on 16 Nov 2006I saw this film by accident. I was ready not to watch it if it turned out to be a dud, but I enjoyed it as it is fast paced, smart and generally well executed.I can actually think of dozens if not hundreds of bad films, albeit with big time talent in them, that were not worthy of theatrical release... and this one goes straight to video??? Were it not for someone else renting it I'd probably never seen it.Maybe the biggest problem of this film is it's title "Stark Raving Mad".With straight to video release and not the most imaginative title being it's only problems, this film is actually very good and certainly worth watching.If you liked "Go" or "Pulp Fiction" or "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" you'll like this one too. Rent it and you won't regret it.
If not so uneven I would have rated higher...
posted on 20 Aug 2006It's to bad. I think the plot about a heist during a rave was a good idea that I don't think I've seen before.Some scenes I was laughing out loud and then the next scenes were dead weight. This happened to many times for me to ignore. To much macho posing especially near the beginning. Some of the plot strands weren't explored enough and almost seemed as an after thought.The acting was on par and each main character had some good moments. The music droned on but maybe people that go to raves or know the lifestyle would like that part more.The thing I liked was it was fast paced frenetic entertainment that goes on my "guilty pleasure" list. With better defined characters and more consistency with the laughs I would have loved this film. Good enough.
Oh my LORD this is BAAAADDDDD
posted on 10 Aug 2006I just saw this and I can't believe how hideous it was. I want my 2 hours of life back!!!! Even my boyfriend, who can sit through anything, walked out! Who's writing these great reviews? It obviously is the directors or writers cause this is a stinker!
Fast-paced fun movie with a great soundtrack
posted on 07 Jun 2006Stark Raving Mad is exactly that! One of those movies where you check your brains at the door and just go along for the ride - and what a fun, breakneck ride it is. Seann William Scott has made a reputation for goofy performances - but this isn't one of them. And much to the better. What happened to the distribution of this movie is anyone's guess, although it sounds like some dumb studio exec simply didn't see it. A convoluted story about a break-in into a bank vault that is masked by the deafening music of an ongoing disco rave. Diverse characters with multiple story lines constantly threaten to derail the progress of the break-in, much to the viewer's delight. Funny, funny, funny. This has got to be the best performance from Seann William Scott, with his occasional asides to the audience regarding his personal philosophy on life. The story is constantly on the move, with a great, pounding soundtrack, unpredictable laugh-out-loud twists and an edgy cutting style that pitches you forward all the time. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this movie! Sit back and enjoy!
An edgy, fast-paced movie
posted on 19 Feb 2006I wasn't really sure what to expect from this movie. I couldn't figure out why it was released in theatres in other countries but not in North America, didn't make sense. And after watching it, I'm even more puzzled, I mean this is a really good movie, edgy and fast-paced. Drew Daywalt and Dave Schneider did a great job with this. Seann William Scott (Ben McGewen) made a complete departure from his Stifler character of the American Pie movies, and that is what being an actor is all about. Timm Sharp (Rikki Simms) was really good playing the guy on the edge of a complete and total breakdown. The thieving trio of Patrick Breen (Jeffrey Jay), John B. Crye (Jake Nealson) and Suzy Nakamura (Betty Shin) were believably on the verge of killing each other in the process of helping their friend Ben make this final score.Lou Diamond Phillips (Gregory) with his shocking white hair was at his intensely malicious best here. He played it completely straight and hard. I have recently seen Lone Hero which he literally finished filming just days before beginning work on his scenes in Stark Raving Mad and the transformation was a double shock from long black hair to short white. Anyway, Gregory is a mob boss intent on collecting a debt left behind by Ben's deceased brother, Kevin. Ben is equally intent on paying off this debt and being done with the likes of Gregory. He enlists the help of his best friend Rikki and the larcenous trinity of Betty, Jake and Jeffrey to pull off a daring bank vault robbery. The bank happens to share a wall with a nightclub providing the opportunity of the perfect cover for the job. Ben works it out with the club's owner, played by Adam Arkin, to hold a rave but the owner is having second thoughts about it and becomes a potential obstacle to Ben's success. Another obstacle comes in the guise of the DJ played by Jody Racicot. The DJ who was originally hired couldn't make it so this guy shows up with his records and an attitude. Obstacle number three is, of course, a girl, played by Monet Mazur as Vanessa, neither the actress nor the character added anything to the story.All is going according to plan, albeit slowly and not without an assortment of problems small and large when Ben notices the noise in the club is decreasing, this is a bad thing as the bank vault alarm will go off if the vibrations from the noise drop below a certain level. Ben goes out to check with his doorman Dirk, played by Canadian character actor, C. Ernst Harth who seems to be appearing in just about everything these days. Dirk informs his boss that there are a lot of kids trying to pass off fake ids to get in, conveniently there's one suspicious young lady right there who insists that the id is not fake, she just changed her hair colour and proceeds to lift her dress to prove her point. C. Ernst gives one of the best visual reactions I've ever seen. The snappy dialogue, driving backbeat, and a talented cast equal a very watchable and enjoyable movie and the commentary track on the DVD is hilarious. I give it a solid 9/10.
Hard to say.
posted on 29 Dec 2005Ok so the title Stark Raving Mad is pretty terrible. The cast is laughable (Lou Diamond Phillips, Adam Arkin). The plot is familiar (bank heist). The characters are all too familiar (Evil chinese underlord, jerkoff club owner). All this aside, the film is actually pretty fun and very easy to enjoy. The film involves almost no thinking and thats why its a good view.> The story follows Ben (Seann William Scott) as he leads his crackpot team of comrades through a bankheist. The quirkiness about this film being the fact that a rave is occuring upstairs and if the music is not loud enough, the vibration change will trigger the bank alarms, not to mention the sound of their drilling. So the night goes on and everything goes wrong. It adds random elements into the mix for essentially no reason (statuotory rape, Ben's brother killed at the hands of his boss). It gets needlessly complicated where it could have simply been a nice, by the books heist film. All in all though the movie is fine, scott is likable and the rest of the cast does fine, besides the brutally miscast Diamond Phillips. Well I dont suggest you purchase it but if you want to view a no-thoughts film then give it a try, otherwise its just another mid-budget actioner. 6/10
Fun but forgettable
posted on 03 Nov 2005So I was flicking through the channels late at night and was surprise to see Sean William Scott on screen in a film I didn't recognise (always the best way to watch a film I find - no preconceptions). Anyway, I was intrigued enough to keep watching all the way through to the finish.Scott is Ben McGewen, a small-time who's having to pay off his murdered brother's debt to gang boss Gregory (Lou Diamond Philips wearing a shockingly white wig and who I only actually recognised just before the end). All he has to do is steal a rare Chinese sculpture for him. Unfortunately the sculpture is locked away in a high-security bank vault. Good thing that Ben has an elaborate plan which involves the putting on a club night in the warehouse next door and a crew of accomplices capable of pulling it off. So long as everything goes to plan of course.Inevitably, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, but then if it didn't, there wouldn't be much of a film. Their original choice of DJ doesn't show and his replacement isn't too keen on their choice of music, Ben's ex-girlfriend is hanging around and distracting him, there's undercover FBI agents hanging around the club and Gregory is an impatient man.I'm sure that if I thought about it, I could poke all kinds of holes in the plot and there were a few scene's that fell flat or just seemed to be filling time but I can say I warmed to the film. The main reason would be Scott, who carried the film and for once, wasn't playing a variation on Stifler. The rest of the cast were all unknown to me apart from Diamond-Philips and Dave Folley, who has little more than a cameo as one of the FBI agents though they all played their roles fine. It also made me laugh (especially a line that I will not repeat here as I don't want to upset more sensitive ears). So overall, it was a fun but nothing special.
Stark Raving LAME
posted on 18 Sep 2005There's a good reason this movie was released direct to video- it's moronic. There are some fun rave scenes and some cute girls but the plot is non existent as are the laughs. I wound up fast forwarding through the scenes near the end because it was so tedious and boring. The best scene was bludgeoning a snake with a big floppy dildo, so that tells you how great this movie is- not real great. It's just dumb and boring from start to finish. They may have been able to save this movie if they had made it a porno because the plot and the acting is on par with a porno so you wouldn't notice the terrible parts if all those cute rave girls were doing something worth watching in between it all.
Cool movie , great Characters
posted on 14 Sep 2005Sorry for the people who think it sucks. What the hell are you expecting ? It's just good entertainment. The characters are well chosen and good acted. A bunch of things go wrong, here and there a funny thing, a little bit of tension . . . I'm really glad I've rented this one. Sean W. Scott on his best ! I'm also glad that he's not his regular character. If you like this actor, go and see bulletproof monk, where he also plays a cool role. It's about a bunch of amateurs trying to rob a volt. So no comments like, "in a good film the heist would of been more professional, etc" they are playing amateurs. It's a fun, cool, just great movie.7/10 Greetz Grande
Surprisingly Excellent Direct To Video Film With An Amazing Performance From Sean William Scott!
posted on 24 Jun 2005This is a surprisingly excellent direct to video film, with an amazing performance from Sean William Scott!. It's very clever and well made, and i thought the plot was really cool, plus all the characters were awesome!. This has got to be one of the best direct to video films i have ever seen, and it really has a great blend of action and comedy, plus Sean William Scott is simply amazing in this!. Yes it did feel cheap at times however a great story and Scott's charm and great sense of humor helps this a lot, plus the ending was great!. The finale is awesome, and the character development is outstanding, plus i really liked the setting. The characters were all likable, however Lou Diamond Phillips is simply terrible and much too hammy for it to work unfortunately. This is a surprisingly excellent direct to video film, with an amazing performance from Sean William Scott, and i say it's a must see for everyone. The Direction is great. Drew Daywalt and David Schneider both do good jobs here with good camera work, good angles and keeping the film at a fast pace!. The Acting is awesome!. Sean Willliam Scott is AMAZING as always and is amazing here, he is extremely hilarious, lovable, had a great charm, had very good chemistry with Timm Sharp, carried the film and really did an amazing job! (William Scott Rules!). Timm Sharp is excellent as Scott's sidekick, he had very good chemistry with him, and was also hilarious i loved him. Lou Diamond Phillips is awful as the main villain, he is much too hammy, and i don't care for him as an actor!, and he bored me. John B. Crye does what he has to do well. Rest of the cast are fine. Overall a must see for everyone!. ****1/2 out of 5
its a must see
posted on 23 Apr 2005This is one of the best movies I have seen the acting is good and there's definitely some good directing. Its definitely not a Seann William Scott movie but thats wot makes it good plus hes HOT (lol). Hes such a good actor and this film definitely shows it he has such a good range. Go and see it, girls will love it for seann guys will like it for the girls and the action even parents will like it OK maybe not the best movie to watch with the parents but they will like it. I recommend it to everyone. Just think of it as been the movie that foolproof wished it was.Do I need to say more, go and see it. Trust me u'll love it.
Best direct to video movie
posted on 05 Apr 2005This most be the best direct to video movie in a long time. I bought this movie in May when it was released on dvd in Norway. I just watched it again a couple days ago, and I will say that Star Raving Mad is good. Is not great, but it's better than most of crap the you see in your local theater. This is the best Seann W. Scott film since Road Trip and the first American Pie. All his other movies he just played a different version of Stifler. Mostly a more stupid one. But this he have finally shaked of Stifler. Scott was Ben McGewen in this movie. He was cool and smart and very good written. Didn't resemblance Stifler at all. In all his other movie, you are thinking about Stifler when you see Scott. But not this time. He finally did it. If you want to see Scott grow as an actor, don't rent American Wedding or Bulletproof Monk. Rent this. Or do like me and buy it.For the rest of the movie, you got a good plot. You have seen it before, but not in this way. Scott is joined by a great cast of characters. His side-kick, the uncool Rikki (played by the funny Timm Sharp from Undeclared), a superstitious safe cracker, Jeffrey (Patrick Breen), a demolition expert (John B. Crye), that work best high, and the only person the really know what she doing, and keeps the group together, the computer expert, Betty (Suzy Nakamura). You also got to FBI agents played by Dave Foley and Kavana Smith, a ex-girlfriend (Monet Mazur), Adam Arkin as a night club owner, and Lou Diamond Phillips as the bad guy Gregory. In a pretty stereo-typical role. But with a cool hair cut.SRM is funny and is really good written, but the end feel a little flat. You got a stand off with two FBI agents and bunch of bad guys, and you don't get a shoot out. That's disappointing. But over all a good movie.I gave it 7 because I think it could be a lot better, and it could have a cool stand off in the end. But still very good and funny.
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Murphy's law
posted on 27 Jul 2009I watch this movie because I was bored and I didn't think too much of it, but then once I got into it I couldn't stop laughing. This movie is one of the Seann William Scott's best movies. I think this movie deserved more, I would recommend this movie to anyone who needs a laugh. You will not be disappointed in Stark Raving Mad, trust me.The movie is based around a group of bank robbers that can't do much right. I don't want to give anything else away, because the mystery adds to the fun. This film is smart and funny, a combination that I haven't seen in newer movies.As you watch this movie just remember Murphy's Law, which is "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong."