it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Blistering performances.

RELEASED IN 1997 and directed by Marco Brambilla, "Excess Baggage" stars Alicia Silverstone as an eccentric 18 year-old in the Seattle area who fakes her own kidnapping to get her unloving father's attention. She develops a relationship with an odd car thief (Benicio Del Toro) while her father enlists the even stranger "Uncle Ray" (Christopher Walken) to find her.Alicia was 19 during shooting and a rising young superstar after a string of popular roles: A pubescent tease in "The Crush" (1993), a popular Beverly Hills adolescent in "Clueless" (1995), a wannabe Nancy Drew in "True Crime" (1995) and a hot superheroine in "Batman & Robin" (1997). "Excess Baggage" was Silverstone's first movie after a pricey production deal with Columbia and it was strongly rumored that she clashed with director Brambilla. Originally slated for release in the Fall of 1996, it was pushed back to late the next Summer.The movie starts confident & strong and could be likened to contemporaneous quirky flicks like "Buffalo '66" (1998). It regrettably fizzles out in the second half but, nevertheless, Alicia was in her physical prime with alluring curves. Unfortunately, she's stuck with one basic outfit the entire film (form-fitting black pants). Much more could've and should've been done with her. On the other side of the gender spectrum, Del Toro is notable as the mumbling eccentric while Walken is intriguing and entertaining as a former CIA assassin who basically raised Emily (Silverstone) and is concerned about his employer's aloofness.THE FILM RUNS 101 minutes and was shot in British Columbia (Vancouver, Victoria & Britannia Beach) and Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. WRITERS: Max D. Adams plus Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.GRADE: C+

A lot of films try to develop a relationship between characters that viewers can hope for, believe in, and have sympathy for. Take Sleepless in Seattle for example. Excess Baggage worked for me better on that level than even Sleepless; the heat and romantic tension between Silverstone and Del Toro creep up on you much more subtly than Sleepless, and to a stronger point. The scene by the lake where Silverstone says 'do you like my belly' was such understated power and so far from cliché it really hooked me. Likewise the main soundtrack song All Mixed Up is great. Then there is Christopher Walken; he keeps his sinister capabilities remarkably under wraps until you surmise that he throws a thug out a window, without actually seeing it.

I watched Excess Baggage for two reasons - one, it seemed to be a very funny and odd story, and two, Christopher Walken was in it. And while Excess Baggage is a romantic comedy, it is not a typical one - it is a very cool and charming movie with great acting by Christopher Walken and Benicio Del Toro, both very gifted actors. Alicia Silverstone was also quite good.As the movie begins, I'm captured immediately. This is going to be a ride like no other before. It separates itself from all the romcoms produced in big chunks with an original story, a lot of humor, drama and romance and Benicio Del Toro's completely endearing character. I truly loved Vincent and all his wonderful lines. He reminds me (odd!) of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow - I think it is how Vincent balances between being as sharp and effective as ever, and being VERY disorganized and fuzzy in his behavior. One minute, he's like a shy teenager, the other one he's totally in control of what is going on around him. And I don't know why, but I'll bet you anything he's a movie geek. I also liked how he couldn't even look at Emily, or have her look at him, in the beginning.Short said, Excess Baggage has more to offer than a romantic comedy in general. I can really see how both Vincent and Emily grow through out the film and add meaning and message to a movie which easily could have been nothing at all.

Rich, unloved teenage girl stages her own kidnapping, but her plan gets foiled when a carjacker takes her for a ride. Anemic comedy-drama with cynical romantic undermining looks fairly stylish and is well-paced, but the screenplay is filled with plot-holes and annoying characters, and the film's last act loses all inspiration. In the lead, Alicia Silverstone--just off her star-making turn in "Clueless"--isn't bad, but she needed a stronger director to reel in her bratty-comic excesses. Surprisingly, the film failed to find an audience with its target group and did a fast fade. Silverstone deserved better. ** from ****