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That is the warning taken from Proverbs 16:27, which warns us about "inaction" or "idleness". The verse encourages us to stay active and productive to avoid temptation or otherwise negative habits, like doing drugs, or murdering, I guess. That is *sorta* the basis of this 1999 fun horror comedy.
Idle Hands follows Anton (Devon Sawa), a lazy stoner teenager whose hand somehow gets possessed and starts doing all kinds of evil s-h!t. He is joined by his two friends, Mick and Pnub (Seth Green and Elden Henson) who try to help him contain his hand's evil powers, while Anton also pursues a relationship with Molly (Jessica Alba).
This is a film that had eluded me back in the day. 1999 was when I got out of college, so I suppose it was around a time where I wasn't paying that much attention to teen comedies. However, I found out that watching it now in my 40s was probably just as fun, cause even with its flaws, this film *is* fun!
Starting with the great physical comedy from Sawa to his fun banter with Mick and Pnub, the film delivers the comedic goods. Unfortunately, like so many similar films, the script isn't so sure of what else to do with its premise. The last act is easily the weakest part of the film as he tries to find out what to do, while the subplot with Vivica A. Fox as a priestess trying to stop "the hand" is poorly developed and executed.
Regardless of those issues, I enjoyed the journey. Director Rodman Flender and writers Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer keep themselves busy with what is an otherwise silly premise and succeed delivering a mostly fun comedy with traces of horror. It's not entirely devoid of trouble, but it still brings up the fun.
Grade:
IDLE HANDS
(1999, Flender)
(1999, Flender)
"Look, the trick is to keep yourself busy. That's why I'm always working on the Ford. Keeps me out of trouble. Idle hands are the devil's playground."
That is the warning taken from Proverbs 16:27, which warns us about "inaction" or "idleness". The verse encourages us to stay active and productive to avoid temptation or otherwise negative habits, like doing drugs, or murdering, I guess. That is *sorta* the basis of this 1999 fun horror comedy.
Idle Hands follows Anton (Devon Sawa), a lazy stoner teenager whose hand somehow gets possessed and starts doing all kinds of evil s-h!t. He is joined by his two friends, Mick and Pnub (Seth Green and Elden Henson) who try to help him contain his hand's evil powers, while Anton also pursues a relationship with Molly (Jessica Alba).
This is a film that had eluded me back in the day. 1999 was when I got out of college, so I suppose it was around a time where I wasn't paying that much attention to teen comedies. However, I found out that watching it now in my 40s was probably just as fun, cause even with its flaws, this film *is* fun!
Starting with the great physical comedy from Sawa to his fun banter with Mick and Pnub, the film delivers the comedic goods. Unfortunately, like so many similar films, the script isn't so sure of what else to do with its premise. The last act is easily the weakest part of the film as he tries to find out what to do, while the subplot with Vivica A. Fox as a priestess trying to stop "the hand" is poorly developed and executed.
Regardless of those issues, I enjoyed the journey. Director Rodman Flender and writers Terri Hughes and Ron Milbauer keep themselves busy with what is an otherwise silly premise and succeed delivering a mostly fun comedy with traces of horror. It's not entirely devoid of trouble, but it still brings up the fun.
Grade: