Charlize Theron in The Yards (2000)

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This movie is about these types of moral and legal ambiguities.

Marky Mark is just out of prison, and he goes to work for Uncle Frank's company that bids on government contracts to provide services, repairs, and parts for the city transportation system. Such a company must search for the edge on its competitors. The owner of the business must work the angles, or he wouldn't be in the business, because he knows his competitors are working the angles.

I was also on the other side. When I was in charge of one type of supplier contracts for a major US company, every supplier wanted to talk to me over dinner. Some suppliers only wanted to pitch their deals in completely legit ways, waiting for me to speak. Some suppliers offered subtle bribes - asking to meet me in Vegas, and wining and dining beyond my wildest dreams, complete with an envelope in my room filled with a litttle gambling money, courtesy of "the house".

Other suppliers simply asked what it would take to get the contracts, leaving it open for me to decide whather to talk about stuff my company would want or stuff I would want. I managed to keep as clean as one can be in an unclean world, but various conversations led me to understand that my predecessors had not. I know there could have been some big money for my pockets. I stayed clean because I thought I had a great future and didn't want to spoil it.

Maybe in different circumstances, I would have taken the easy road. The point is this. Suppose I had been a flexible guy? Who would have gotten the contracts, those with the best deal for my company, or those with the best deal for me? Now if you were one of those suppliers pitching 100% straight, and you were pitching to a flexible guy, what would be your chance to get a contract over a competitor who provided personal perks?

There are two types of suppliers who cross the legal line. The first is legitimate businessmen who must do so to survive. The second type consists of real criminals, who start to escalate their demands once they know a public figure is compromised. This rarely involves violence, by the way. The normal threat is exposure. (Exposure doesn't usually make for much of a movie, so movie gangsters use violence.)

Anyway, we all know this is true, but we choose to ignore it. When somebody gets caught in the illegal activities, we moralize and pontificate, but we all knew it was going on, and we all looked the other way. We all know it is still going on everywhere every day. Friggin' Mother Theresa probably had to bribe public officials to keep from getting hospices shut down.

If Uncle Frank wants to succeed in his business, he has to play the angles.

So Marky gets in some trouble over a violent incident in a railroad yard, and both he and Uncle Frank the pseudo-gangster (Jimmy Caan) have to tread lightly. In this situation, if Marky tells the truth, everyone goes down. Or Marky can lie, protect his Uncle, but go to prison for life.

Should Marky take the rap to shield the guy who gave him a good job, and is married to his mom's sister, and supports almost everyone in the extended family? What should Uncle Frank do? If this were any old employee, Frank might have him "taken care of" before the pressure caves him in, but this is his own nephew, and a good kid.

That is real life. That's what the film is about. Real gangsters. No shoot-outs in deserted Mexican towns, no intricate tortures, just real people facing real situations that occur every day in their struggle to do the same things we all do - make a living, protect their friends and families.

Of course, the decision to bump off Wahlberg would have been a lot simpler if Uncle Frank had ever heard any of his albums.

Now that I've made all those digressions, let me get to the point of whether the movie is any good. Yes, in a film school, Cannes-entry kind of way. But James Berardinelli hit upon a very important point in his review - "reality is overrated". Critics and film buffs liked the film. Mainstream viewers stayed away in droves.

Nudity Report: Charlize Theron is seen topless, in a sex scene with Joaquin Phoenix that is quite far from the camera.

Critics Vote: Three stars. Roger Ebert 3/4, Berardinelli 2/4. Berardinelli pointed out, and justly so, "reality is overrated"

IMDB Summary: 7.4 out of 10

Box Office: It bombed el grande. Made for a $20 million budget, and armed with decent reviews, it couldn't even bring in a million at the domestic box.

DVD Info: N/A

Written by: Scoopy …Scoopy.net