Stand Up Guys is a funny senior-citizen mob comedy, yet it is also a sharp character study.  The thing I like most about Fisher Stevens’ movie is that it gets better and better as it goes along; not too many films can make that claim.

The premise is pretty obvious: long-time convict Al Pacino is released from prison and met by his best friend Christopher Walken; Pacino guesses correctly that he has just a few short hours to live, and that Walken is to kill him for past transgressions. But Walken is hesitant to kill his friend, and as the clock ticks the two men find all sorts of distractions and crazy situations to pass the time together.  Some, but not all, of these adventures are telegraphed, but even so the characters become so real that it doesn’t matter.  I became fully engrossed in the story even though I was fairly certain where it was headed.

After Scarface Al Pacino became rather self-caricatured, yelling a lot with grandiose mannerisms in many of his roles.  Here, he’s talkative but soft-spoken and very introspective; it’s the best performance he’s given in many years.  Christopher Walken also tones down his showmanship and is very good; his best moment is a quick look he gives to Pacino and Alan Arkin when they are arguing about pants that is just perfect at the exact moment it needs to be.  Arkin is a hoot as their former partner from the old days, whom they rescue from an old folks’ home.

Stevens’ film is really about friendship, and it turns wonderfully tender before it finally has to settle its story.  I cannot say that it is an important movie, for it has several moments or even scenes that seem inspired by other films (including Scent of a Woman), but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.  It has sexual humor that is funny without being stupid, a handful of great lines, a solid respect for women and the sense of freedom that comes from knowing it is one’s last night to be alive.  I will definitely be seeing this one again.  ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2.  8 February 2013.