Here we go again. Yet another movie that relies on the chemistry between the leads rather than creating an interesting story. It’s not that Wolfs is bad. It’s perfectly fine. A perfectly acceptable way to pass the time on a lazy afternoon. It feels like it could have been much more than that, but instead decided to coast on the charm of its leads.
Wolfs tells the story of two cleaners, that is, those that clean up messes such as a dead body in a hotel room. Such is the case when a high-profile political figure rents a pricey motel room for a quick tryst and things go horribly wrong. She calls in one cleaner (George Clooney), while the hotel owner call in another (Brad Pitt). Although they always work alone (they’re lone wolfs, get it?), they are forced to work together to clean up the mess.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much more to the story than that. The first part of the film is Clooney and Pitt cleaning the hotel room and removing the body. This results in plenty of bickering and banter as the two cleaners decide on which tasks each is responsible for, with each trying to protect their own ‘secrets of the trade’, while still trying to impress each other, if only a little bit. This was the best part of the movie for me as having the two at odds the entire time made for the best laughs, even if the banter is more grumbles, grunts and side-eyes glances than clever world play. It’s fun though.
Once the room is clean, the two must set out to return some found drugs. This is where the movie starts to fall apart. As you would expect, the two start to grudgingly respect each other, realizing they have more in common then they would like to believe. With this, the banter slowly but surely becomes less and less witty. It’s not immediate, but it is noticeable as the movie plays on. Also, there are hints at the movie getting a little dark, but it never goes too far down that road. Given their choice of occupation, these should be dark characters, even if they are wise cracking with each other. However, Wolfs always pulls back and provides a nicer view of these two criminals. You need to keep the stars likeable, and so the movie loses some edge that it could have desperately used.
Unfortunately, it is towards the conclusion of the movie where it has the most potential. It’s a bit of an open story line that, had it been explored over the drug angle, it would have made for a better movie. Something for the sequel, I guess.
With such a limited story, Wolfs relies on the viewer buying into the chemistry between the leads. Fortunately, there is plenty of chemistry to go around. Clooney and Pitt are both pros and they know how to work together. The script doesn’t give them a lot to run with, but the two make the most of what is there. At it’s best, watching the two banter is good fun. However, I think the script was pushing for an Ocean’s 11 style of banter and it never gets to that level. It’s good, but not enough to elevate the movie past merely enjoyable.
Wolfs had such potential. With Clooney and Pitt in the leads it should have been a howling good time. It has such a bare bones script though and does not seem to want to push for anything beyond having the two leads banter with each other. I do still think it worth watching. It’s fun, it has its moments; it just feels like there could have been so much more. If the movie had pushed for a little more darkness, or explored other avenues of the story, it could have been great. But sometimes, you take what you can get.
Have you seen Wolfs? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.