CHICAGO – Continuing screenings on the closing nights of the Chicago International Film Festival, I decided to take in a “surprise” screening at the Music Box Theater on Monday night.

The Music Box is one of the legendary movie theaters in Chicago, probably in the country. Featuring “star” lights in the ceiling and a fancy decor, it recalls its roots – having opened in 1929 – as a miniature movie palace escape for the neighborhood.

On the first freezing cold night of the fall (a sad harbinger of what is to come, weather-wise), the patrons of the surprise film dutifully lined up outside the venue.

I engaged in a conversation with a line mate. She told me that there were rumors that this might be the new James Bond film. That got me psyched.

After being seated, and procuring popcorn for dinner, the lights dimmed and the surprise film unreeled…

RocknRolla (2008)

After hoping for Bond, I had to settle for Ritchie, Guy Ritchie. The writer/director is back, fresh from his bout with tabloid divorce, to cinematically recollect his glory days with the mobster-esque comedy “RocknRolla.” The surprise was the movie felt like 1998 (“Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”).

Using his trademark quick cuts, gutty soundtrack and flamboyant characters, Ritchie takes on London real estate, where burned out buildings can double their money within a year after being filtered through deals upon deals.

When a gang of dopes called the “Wild Bunch” (headed by Gerald Butler as “One-Two”) need quick cash for a runaway land deal, they steal a Russian businessman’s cash, based on a tip by sultry accountant (Thandie Newton). This queers a profitable handover to their main rival, a ruthless land boss named Lenny (the great Tom Wilkerson).

Just in case this intrigue wasn’t intriguing enough, Ritchie throws in a rocker named Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) who is rumored to be dead. Quid’s connection to Lenny allows that a valuable and “lucky” work of art ends up in the wrong hands, and that the pursuit to get the painting back to the rightful owner involves the whole network.

Although this is a confusing and muddled mess, coupled with the deja-vu of all the Ritchie cliches, RocknRolla does manage a few moments that make it watchable. Kebbell as Johnny Quid is a electric wire, a weird quasi-philosopher who loves to throw a wrench into the machinery. There are a couple amusing running gags, especially about modern art, and the cast has fun interpreting the Ritchie ramblings.

The film does, however, have a hard time staying on track and is stunningly cavalier about keeping events straight. It is as if the individual cast members are sometimes doing improvisation, based on a vague notion of character and plot suggestion.

Let’s hope that Guy Ritchie will soon be living in a (new) material world.

*** out of five.

I will wrap up the CIFF adventure with a ‘Best of the Fest’ screening on Wednesday.

For more on the history of the Music Box Theater, including a cool ghost story, click here. [1]