Reset: The Usual Suspects

What

Can I say something? The Usual Suspects is an overrated movie. It’s true. The poster is solid. The characters are all good to very good. But the story is just kind of convoluted and flat. It’s typical heist-run-amuck fare, with some snappy dialogue and references to the devil to give things a bit of an edge. Very much of a time and place, and not something that has aged well IMHO. The ending is good but likewise, has been blown out of proportion as being amongst the finest twists in cinematic history. It’s unfortunate because the ending is pretty solid but unless you saw the movie in its first week of release, you probably went in seeding with the “Ooh, the ending is SOOO amazing” card and then the reality is kinda underwhelming. Anything would be. Ultimately, watching The Usual Suspects is like trying to enjoy lunch at the Village on the Grange food court. It comes with a strong word-of-mouth from artsy types but ultimately, you’ll realize it’s not all that memorable and you end up getting yelled at by the owner of Karine’s. But again, the poster is solid and makes for perfect fodder, to reset the five primary leads.

Components

Stephen Baldwin as Michael McManus 

Gabriel Byrne as Dean Keaton 

Benicio Del Toro as Fred Fenster 

Kevin Pollak as Todd Hockney 

Kevin Spacey as Roger 'Verbal' Kint 

Replacement Parts

Stephen Baldwin => Matthew Lillard as Michael McManus 

Somebody who does wacky and manic well is needed in this role and although he’s kinda fallen off the face of the earth, this could be a vehicle to put Nineties teen slasher fave Matthew Lillard back in the public eye. Please recall he pulls off a wide range of exaggerated facial expressions and mouth gapes like it’s nobody’s business.   

Also considered: Christopher Titus 

Gabriel Byrne => Clive Owen as Dean Keaton 

Love this swap. One cool, collected dude for another. Owen could play around with accents, practice looking conflicted, carry his trench coat while folding his arms (easier said than done) and grow his hair out a bit. It’ll be great.

Also considered: Vincent Cassel

Benicio Del Toro => John Leguizamo as Fred Fenster 

It’s a shame that the career of John Leguizamo never really went to the next level. The dude has/had some seriously range and never runs the risk of being type cast, since he’s played such a myriad of roles during his long career. Guess he’s resigned to being a career “character actor”, which actually makes him a pretty good fit here.

Kevin Pollak => Jeremy Renner as Todd Hockney 

A bit of a curveball but I’m confident that the versatile Renner could connect as the snide, sardonic Todd Hockney. Figured another comedian would be the logical fit but then Pollak played things pretty straight here. So eff that, man.

Kevin Spacey => Paul Giamatti as Roger 'Verbal' Kint 

An example of a reset that begat an entire post. If this movie were made fresh today, Giamatti CLEARLY would play the gimpy Roger Klint with a lot of slack jawed pinache. And then the one-time “Pig Vomit” would wow the audience by walking upright at the end… while smoking a cigarette! Heady stuff indeed.

Reset Rating: 7.5/10

Solid. Unspectacular. Ends with a flourish. Kind of like this movie.