A Good Day for It (2011) – Review

Where to watch A Good Day for It

1 1/2 Stars

A Good Day For It is a talky, plodding overwrought melodrama that hints at becoming a better film yet never makes the leap. Robert Patrick is Lucas Gaines, a man on the lam for the past 15 years. On one particular day Gaines meets up with his estranged teenage daughter at a roadside cafe. As luck would have it a trio of hit-men are in town to finish a job; stopping at the diner the killers spot Gaines and tensions from the past resurface. This results in a showdown between Gaines and the head of the criminal organization, Lyle Tyrus (Lance Henriksen).

Pseudo western is just an excuse for under plotting and two settings. The majority of the running-time takes place in a restaurant, the kind that only exist in films, in which the waitress is an unbelievably kind old lady and the head cook is her long suffering silver haired suitor. This seriously dull film squanders a capable cast of talented actors including Patrick, Henriksen, Robert Englund and Hal Holbrook. The stuffy screenplay seems like it started life as a one-set stage play and was then awkwardly expanded for the screen. Too much banal dialogue and attempts at symbolism sink this one quickly. Makes you wonder how the filmmakers were able to attract this level of talent to such mediocre material.

Director: Nick Stagliano
Stars: Robert Patrick, Hal Holbrook, Jared Acosta