Romeo Is Bleeding MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1/2 Content: -4

Jack Antoneli (Gary Oldman) is a cop trading classified information to the mob in exchange for money. He hides the cash from his wife in a sewer drain in their backyard. Things take a grim twist however when one of his leads turns up sour. Mob boss, Falcolm, threatens his life, that of his wife (Annabelle Sciorra), and his girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) unless he finds and kills rival mobster Mona DeMarkof (Lena Olin). But Jack's fear is not as big as his greed. In an attempt to gain even more money, Mona bribes him to help her and double-cross Falcolm. But she double-crosses Jack and nearly kills him on a number of occasions. Jack now runs for his life from the mob and from Mona. Billed as a comedy, this newest addition to the "male-bashing" films is neither funny nor entertaining. Rather, it is a nauseating picture of hopelessly irresponsible, immoral, and dysfunctional people.

Jack is portrayed as a basically nice guy who likes to sleep around; a lot. Plainly, he is a greedy man without morals. His greed leads him down a one way path to hell. His marriage is destroyed, he accidently murders his girlfriend and he loses all his money. The women are beyond pathetic as they hopelessly cling to Jack as their Romeo. He has intercourse with every woman in the film, except his wife, all of whom dress like prostitutes. The abundance of female frontal nudity and near nudity, and the degrading portrayal of women is sickening. Many on-screen graphic murders and bloody dismantling of body parts are included for their pure shock value. Numerous obscenities further tarnish the script. The film's big relief comes when the credits finally roll. ROMEO's sole redeeming quality, and this is a stretch, is that Jack ends up broke and alone. This dark comedy is horrible and should be avoided.

Preview Reviewer: Krista Kay Bontrager
Distributor: Gramercy Pictures, 9247 Alden Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210