Austin Butler (left) celebrates his new movie “Caught Stealing” in Austin, Texas, with Texas icon Matthew McConaughey (Photo courtesy of Fons PR).
(“Caught Stealing” trailer courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment)
The old folks often say, “Watch the company you keep.”
Or they might say, “Birds of a feather flock together.”
In a nutshell, if you hang out with sketchy people, don’t be surprised when they get you caught up in some sketchy drama.
That sums up the movie “Caught Stealing,” a suspenseful crime drama that, unfortunately, succumbs to some predictability.
“Caught Stealing” begins with baseball footage of Hank Thompson (Austin Butler, “Elvis”) stealing home plate during a high school game.
But Hank was not just some ordinary high school baseball player.
He was a pure phenom.
So much so that scouts predict that he will be a first-round draft pick in the next Major League Baseball draft.
Although many believe that Hank will be one of the first few draft picks, he hopes to fall a little bit in the draft to the San Francisco Giants so that he can play for his favorite team.
The opportunity to play pro baseball for your favorite team would be the ultimate dream come true.
Unfortunately, dreams can easily become nightmares when a person makes poor temporary decisions that have a permanent impact on their life and the lives of others.
So instead of glory on the baseball diamond, Hank must settle for life as a New York City bartender serving New York Mets fans while staying true to his San Francisco Giants.
The only person who cares as much for the Giants as he does is his mother in California, whom he talks to every day via the telephone.
After every telephone conversation, the two end the call with, “Go Giants.”
In all honesty, Hank seems to have adjusted well to his life, all things considered.
He does not have fame, glory or wealth.
But Hank has a job that he loves, with a boss that he is close with.
He has a beautiful lady in his life, Yvonne (Zoe Kravitz), who cares about him and seems to want more than just a casual relationship.
In “Caught Stealing,” Hank even gets along well with his neighbors, like Duane (George Abud) and Russ (Matt Smith), even though Duane stands out like a black sheep in their rough New York neighborhood.
While other residents have tough and blue-collar jobs, Duane is proud of his job building websites, a fairly new field in 1998.
However, Hank has a much closer relationship with Russ.
Therefore, when Russ must return home to London to tend to his sick father, he entrusts his cat to Hank.
The cat is a biter and not very sociable.
But he seems to like Hank for some reason, even though Hank is a dog lover and not a fan of cats.
Unfortunately for Hank, dealing with a cat is the least of his worries after Russ leaves the country.
Almost immediately, some rough characters begin snooping around Russ’ apartment, looking for him.
Whatever Russ did to these people it is serious because they begin taking their frustration out on Hank and some of the people close to him.
Furthermore, Russ must have upset multiple groups because his actions create multiple groups of opponents for the unsuspecting Hank.
Russ has something that these groups of thugs want.
However, Hank has no clue what they want, despite his close friendship with Russ.
Even if he did know what they wanted from Russ, Hank still has one vice from his days as a young baseball phenom that might throw a monkey wrench into the game.
He likes to partake in adult beverages.
And the way he consumes them makes it hard for him to remember much.
So, if Russ told him something or gave him something important, remembering what it is might be impossible.
But if Hank does not remember quickly, there is a great possibility that things will not end well for him or his loved ones.
In “Caught Stealing,” Hank must remain alive and in one piece, although Ukrainian and Jewish mobsters want his head on a silver platter because they believe he is in cahoots with his friend, Russ.
“Caught Stealing” is definitely suspenseful and a little stressful.
But it’s nothing unusual for a suspense film.
What separates “Caught Stealing” is the level of talent playing the characters like Butler, Regina King and Kravitz.
But even with such great talent, the performances are not perfect.
King’s accent seemed a little subpar in “Caught Stealing,” which is something no one has ever said about a King performance going back as far as the sitcom, “227” with Marla Gibbs.
Butler does his thing.
But he does not give an “Elvis” or “The Bikeriders” level performance.
In “Caught Stealing,” Smith’s character, Russ is the most interesting because of the character arc.
Although he appears to be the typical jerk, Russ turns out to be more complex than “Caught Stealing” initially lets on.
Nevertheless, “Caught Stealing” contains a lot of predictable moments that moviegoers will see coming a mile away.
That reality prevents “Caught Stealing” from becoming a great movie.
Additionally, some of the car scenes seem a bit fake from an internal perspective.
But “Caught Stealing” is deeper than just drama and suspense.
It deals with human complexities.
Although someone might appear as bad company, many people have just made one bad decision that has gotten themselves and others into a world of trouble.
Or they might have done everything right, but life’s circumstances make them seem untrustworthy or even like a sleazeball.
The key is discerning what kind of person you are dealing with before discarding them or holding on to them.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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