What a chore. All the love from critics and Letterboxd had me expecting a much different experience. I was frequently reminded of Made: a highly irritating character "babysat" for a night around a city by a more sensible friend, enduring the other self-destructively throwing wrenches into the gears at every opportunity (also Peter Falk had a very funny cameo).

Speaking of Falk, he is very good in Mikey and Nicky, but his acting ability is largely besides the point as it services a sloppily edited, gritty and indulgent slog. Characters aimlessly riff for the sake of riffing, pivoting on a dime from manic to placid, from tears to laughter.

A ticking clock device introduced early is so poorly handled that at times it becomes an afterthought. This premise had all the potential to be as unbearably tense as it wanted to be heartbreaking but by the end I was simply relieved I no longer had to hear Cassavetes incessantly scream and flail about.

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