This is one of those "based on a true story" movies that's a little too true to be great. Overall, excellent performances from the cast but it could have sacrificed some fact to make a better movie.Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) is a small-time drug-runner with a big mouth and an annoying pack of friends. When an associate, Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), is short on a debt, they trade words, then blows. Johnny rats out Jake to his parole officer, Jake breaks into Johnny's house. This is just idiots being idiots to each other until Johnny sees Jake's kid brother Zach (Anton Yelchin) out in a park. He grabs Zach just to fuck with his brother, and apparently has never heard the words "felony kidnapping" in his life. To his credit, Zach is an incredibly easy-going, good-natured kid and does not attempt to run off, despite multiple chances. He is given over to the care of Johnny's friend Frankie (Justin Timberlake) and spends his captivity getting high, partying, and flirting with hot girls (Amanda Seyfried and Amber Heard). All seems fine and dandy, but as the days pass and the heat is turned up, the question of what to do with the kid looms ever larger.
Since this is a true story, it's not all that hard to guess what happens but just in case you weren't up on your Crimes from the Late 90's Jeopardy category, I won't tell you. Every young actor worth a damn is in this movie, as well as Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, and Harry Dean Stanton. Like I said, they could have sacrificed a little realism to make a more compelling story. If I want facts, I'll watch Forensic Files.
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