By Bob Grimm
BFFs Brad Pitt and George Clooney join forces again for Wolfs, a relatively good time for those who choose to partake. That, of course, is easier to do if you are an Apple TV+ subscriber, because it’s already available for streaming after a brief mandated theatrical release.
Pitt and Clooney play a couple of cleaners, much like the character Harvey Keitel played in Pulp Fiction: They clean up bloody messes when bodies turn up unexpectedly.
When a high-profile attorney (Amy Ryan) has a young man (Austin Abrams) accidentally crash through a glass serving cart in her hotel room—resulting in his presumed demise and, yes, a bloody mess—she calls a secret number to get the body out of her life without going through the trouble of alerting the authorities.
The two cleaners show up, both surprised to see the other. They will need to dispose of the body together, during which the annoyed pair will engage in a lot of low-key, and very funny, banter. They each like to work alone; they don’t like each other (at least initially); and they don’t want to disclose their clandestine techniques.
Does the whole thing feel routine? Sure, but that’s due in part to Pitt and Clooney having such a relaxed, familiar rapport; the movie saunters by at an enjoyable if unchallenging pace. The two have an onscreen vibe not unlike Paul Newman and Robert Redford in their day, and they know it; in fact, some of what happens in this movie is a direct homage to Redford and Newman.
Wolfs is directed by Jon Watts in his first effort since taking over the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. It’s also his first non-Spidey movie since Cop Car with Kevin Bacon. If you haven’t seen that movie yet, put off watching Wolfs for a couple of hours and watch Cop Car. Wolfs is fine, but Cop Car is great.
There’s already a Wolfs sequel in the works, and that’s fine. There are worse ways to spend your time than watching these two goofballs cracking wise. While Wolfs is not a great movie, Pitt and Clooney are great it in it, and darn it, sometimes it’s just fun to watch two likable stars having themselves a good old time.
Wolfs is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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