The Parker novels by Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake) are a favorite of mine, and I’ve made it a mission to see every adaptation I can of them. You can imagine how excited I was to see that Shane Black was directing a movie based on the series, as his movies are a delight he is no stranger to seedy crime stories, though more on the humorous side. See: THE NICE GUYS and KISS KISS BANG BANG.
What makes this adaptation unique is that it isn’t based on one specific Parker novel. Instead, it is a mix of several, as well as one of the Grofield books. The opening finds Parker (Mark Wahlberg) and his criminal friends in the middle of a heist that has a bit of a wrinkle to it—someone else decides to try and rob the robbers, killing one and wounding another in the process before making off with a bag. Parker tracks him down and recovers the money and makes the man pay the ultimate price for his foolish endeavor. At the safe house, everyone is prepared to lay low when getaway driver Zen (Rosa Salazar) betrays them and kills the others and almost gets Parker, who manages to escape.
After recuperating at a motel that caters to the criminal element run by Madge (Peta Wilson), Parker tracks Zen down and inadvertently ruins plans for her new heist that the stolen money was the seed money for. It turns out that she is trying to steal a newly discovered treasure from her country as the corrupt President intends to keep it for himself instead of using it to better the lives for the citizens. To do this, the President has hired the crime organization known as The Outfit to steal the treasure when it is on display at the UN so it can be sold off with nobody the wiser.
In order to pull the job off, she needs Parker’s help, so he decides to put off his revenge for the time being to make some money as there is none left from the previous score. To do that, he needs a team and brings in actor/thief Grofield( LaKeith Stanfield), Ed Mackey (Keegan-Michael Key), Brenda Mackey (Claire Lovering) and Stan Devers (Chai Hansen). Will Parker and the team be able to outsmart Lozini (Tony Shaloub), the head of the outfit and who has a history with the thief? I hope so, or it wouldn’t be a very satisfying movie.
PLAY DIRTY is a solid little heist movie that doesn’t break any new ground but pulls it off well. Writer/Director Shane Black is an old hand at this type of movie and although it might seem like an odd fit for Parker novels, it works. It’s got elements of The Black Ice Score (hired by a country to steal their own treasure), The Seventh (the attempted theft by the amateur in the beginning), The Sour Lemon Score (the double cross by Zen), and Butcher’s Moon (Lozini). There are probably some others that I’m missing at the moment as well. The result is an entirely unique creation and a fun one. It really feels like they had a great love for the Parker novels and knew they wouldn’t be able to do just one so they managed to pull off several in one shot.
Did I mention that it is set around Christmas, too? Another hallmark of Black’s work and definitely a fun time for Parker to be running around New York City.
Wahlberg isn’t quite my cup of tea or who I would cast as Parker, but I think he fits the role better than Robert Downey Jr., who was originally cast in the part. He’s got the build at least and looks like a bruiser. Stanfield as Grofield is an absolute delight and feasts whenever he is on screen. I would actually love to see him get his own movie so we could really see him strut his stuff. I haven’t seen Salazar in much but she was good as the femme fatale Zen. Key does his thing and is always a treat. Tony Shaloub was fun as Lozini, and I would love to see him in a proper adaptation of Butcher’s Moon so he could get more screen time. Nobody does exasperation better than him and Parker is a thorn in his side that he just can’t seem to get rid of. Was nice seeing Peta Wilson pop up as Madge, too. I loved her on La Femme Nikita and in LXG. Glad she’s still getting work. Thomas Jane pops up in the beginning as Philly Webb, one of the ill-fated crew of the racetrack heist and I wish he got to stick around longer.
In terms of Parker adaptations, it might not be the most faithful one, but it is a hell of a good time and worth checking out. I know I’ll be throwing it on again during the holidays for some Christmas heists shenanigans. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be popular enough to get a sequel. I wouldn’t mind Black taking a crack at a proper adaptation of Slayground. (I enjoyed the Peter Coyote film, but it didn’t resemble the novel much at all.)
Check it out.
PS: If you’re looking for a great place to enter the world of Parker, I recommend the fantastic comic book adaptations done by the late, great Darwyn Cooke. They’re beautiful and extremely faithful to the sources and were responsible for getting me hooked on the series.
