Cutaway (2000)

Genre: Action
Format: VHS/DVD
Availability: Yellow
Director: Guy Manos

Cast: Stephen Baldwin, Maxine Bahns

Surprise Celebrity: Tom Berenger
Special Guests: Dennis Rodman, Casper Van Dien

Cutaway was the first movie I ever watched ironically.  My friend rented a movie that began with a "C" from a local Blockbuster (before they were relics of the past) and accidentally got this movie in the box instead.  We decided to watch it anyway, and what followed was a cinematic experience that changed my life forever.

The story of Cutaway is really the story of Guy Manos, a skydiving expert and stunt coordinator who has worked on such legendary films as Last Action Hero, Drop Zone, and George of the Jungle. Emboldened by his success in the movie business, Guy decided to try his hand at making one himself.  Along with his brother Greg, he cobbled together a script using the plots of various 90's action thrillers he had either worked on or seen on cable.

The hero(?) of our story is Vic Cooper, a hotshot customs agent who we learn from an opening scene is prone to getting "in too deep".  You know, I'm sure there are thousands of federal agents who are completely professional and never blur the line, but do you ever see movies about them?  No, of course not - but I digress.  Despite the red flags, Vic's supervisor Lt. Margate (Ron Silver) approves him for a mission to expose a Floridian drug smuggling operation.  Because why not?

Using Holmes-esque powers of deduction (less Sherlock, more Katie), Vic determines that the drugs are being smuggled by skydivers.  He decides to get lessons from a local bohemian hottie (a la Point Break) named Star, played by the chick that 90's indie darling Ed Burns was banging back in the day.  He learns that most of the ragtag group of skydiving misfits who hang out at the drop zone have "cut away", meaning that they have removed (or "cut away") everything other than skydiving from their lives.  What a bunch of fucking losers.

The gang consists of two annoying teens named Rip and Cord (one of whom was a minor character in American Pie), the kid from Picket Fences, a hard-drinking risk taker named Ground Rush who befriends Vic, some other randos, Dennis Rodman (who exists in this film only to stand in the background and glare menacingly at Vic), and Redline - the leader of the group who was apparently based on Manos himself.  Redline is played by Academy Award nominee Tom Berenger, who has the bloated, flushed, and sweaty look of a man who is doing the heavy drinking that can only come from a post-Substitute/pre-Inception career slump.

Vic discovers that Redline and Rodman ("Turbo") are the drug runners, but by that point he has officially "cut away" and become part of their competitive skydiving team.  As he begins to master the art of skydiving, befriend Redline, and participate in actual drug smuggling, Vic slowly loses touch with Ron Silver and his old pals at the Customs Agency.  This is shown through an amazing metaphor - every time Vic meets with Margate to exchange information, they are playing basketball.  After Vic "cuts away", he starts missing his shots.  Get your shit together, man!

By the end of the film, Vic has become Redline's right hand man and helps the team win a national skydiving contest.  On their way to the ground after the last event, Vic attempts to arrest his former mentor.  Redline is hearing none of that noise, however - he cuts his chute and plummets to his death, conveniently landing in the center of the landing target without a scratch on him.  Vic must then decide who to go home with - the skydiving team or the cops.  I won't spoil it by telling you the ending but I'll give you a hint: it's dumb.

Notes on the Cast: The sheer douchiness of Baldwin's character oozes through in every scene.  Whether he's riding his sweetass motorbike, lecturing his skydiving teammates, or seducing his female co-star, even the most easygoing viewer will want to punch him in the goddamn face.  Maxine Bahns seems like she didn't put much into her performance beyond memorizing the lines. Dennis Rodman does a passable job of looking scary, and at one point is lucky enough to get the opportunity to rough up Baldwin.  Beringer is better than everyone else, but that's not saying much.  His constant sheen of sweat is the real star here, along with Starship Troopers and all-around bad movie favorite Casper Van Dien as a loudmouthed Army skydiver.

Notes on the Production: As you'd expect, the skydiving sure looks nice.  In fact, the whole movie doesn't look bad, although I guess that's because it's mostly skydiving.  But the script - whoo boy.  Lots of cheesy one-liners (which sound hilarious coming from Baldwin) and overuse of the words "cut" and "away".  Also, Vic and Star fall in love over the course of about twenty minutes, although that mught just be a testement to Baldwin's douchey charms.



Video Bonus: Check out this excellent 2 1/2 minute compilation of the film's best moments, put together by the folks at Everything is Terrible (who know their shitty movies).  It even includes my favorite part of the movie - the montage of happy Redline memories that Vic experiences as Beringer's character plummets to his death.