Jesse Eisenberg & Justin Bartha

Given its intriguing premise and inherently meaty conflicts, the glibly titled crime drama "Holy Rollers" never quite catches fire, calling for more edge and narrative tension than director Kevin Asch and screenwriter Antonio Macia manage to deliver. Still, it's an often evocative dip into unique territory fleshed out by a highly convincing cast.

Jesse Eisenberg ("The Squid and the Whale," "Adventureland") expands his usual brainy underdog shtick -- somewhat -- as Sam Gold, a 20-year-old Brooklyn Hasid whose cocky neighbor Yosef ( "The Hangover's" Justin Bartha) introduces him to a lucrative scheme in which ultra-Orthodox Jews are hired to smuggle Ecstasy pills for an Israeli dealer (Danny Abeckaser, also a producer here).

Although inspired by true, late 1990s events, the script doesn't effectively square Sam's leap from would-be rabbi to a shrewd, E-popping businessman who parties with Amsterdam's night owls and woos the boss' susceptible girlfriend (Ari Graynor).

Ditch the wide-brimmed hat, snip those pesky payot (curled sideburns) and, it seems, anything's possible for a wayward Hasid.

More satisfying are the increasingly heated interactions between Sam and his suspicious, old-school parents (Mark Ivanir, Elizabeth Marvel), worried sister (Hallie Eisenberg, Jesse's actual sister) and conservative best friend -- and Yosef's brother -- Leon (Jason Fuchs).

This fairly brief film could have used more of these emotionally resonant moments.

 

     RSS

 

"Holy Rollers" Movie Trailer

 

more MOVIE REVIEWS ...

Recent Movie Reviews - Films in Theaters

 

Jonah Hill & Russell Brand

Get Him to the Greek
Jonah Hill & Russell Brand in Get Him to the Greek

Extremely raunchy, this film is also very funny. Written and directed by director Nicholas Stoller, 'Get Him to the Greek' follows Aaron (Jonah Hill), a record-company gofer charged with flying to London to fetch a substance-infested rock star on the wane, played by Russell Brand, for a comeback concert at LA's Greek Theatre

 

Adrien Brody & Sarah Polley

Splice
Adrien Brody & Sarah Polley in Splice

This crafty new thriller features Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as genetic engineers who successfully create a new hybrid creature out of DNA from various species. Naturally, the experiments go too far, creating 'Dren,' a thing that's part human, but with various other horror genre features like a tail with a deadly stinger and legs like a dinosaur

 

Ashton Kutcher & Katherine Heigl

The Killers
Ashton Kutcher & Katherine Heigl in The Killers

In 'Killers' Kutcher plays a CIA superspy assassin who wants out, for the sake of his relationship with a Type A control-freakish ninny played by Katherine Heigl. 'Killers,' which I saw with a restful, smallish crowd late Friday morning, brings up a lot of intriguing questions

 

Owen Wilson & Emma Stone

Marmaduke
Owen Wilson & Emma Stone in Marmaduke

'Marmaduke,' the comic strip about life with a 200-pound Great Dane, earns a dull but harmless big-screen comedy aimed at the youngest moviegoers. Voiced by Owen Wilson, this canine narrates and chats up his fellow members of the House-pet Kingdom thanks to digital assistance, moving from Kansas to Southern California with his family

 

Dany Boon & Yolande Moreau

Micmacs
Dany Boon & Yolande Moreau in Micmacs

Looming, impish eyes; gliding cameras; whimsy aggressive enough to make you swear off whimsy for a month: It is time once again for a film from the French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, best known on these shores for 'Amelie.' The director's latest is 'Micmacs.' The story hinges on a homeless former video store clerk with a bullet lodged in his brain after a near-fatal shooting

 

MPAA rating: R (for drug content, language and brief sexual material).

Running time: 1:29.

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg (Sam Gold); Justin Bartha (Yosef Zimmerman); Danny A. Abeckaser (Jackie Solomon); and Ari Graynor (Rachel Apfel).

Credits: Directed by Kevin Asch; written by Antonio Macia; produced by Abeckaser, Tory Tunnell, Per Melita and Jen Gatien. A First Independent Pictures release.