Beyond the City Limits Reviews

There's no one to root for in this bisexual variation on THELMA & LOUISE (1991), which features a singularly unappealing cast of uniformly selfish and/or loutish characters. Misha (Nastassja Kinski) and Lexi (Alyson Hannigan, of TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the live-in lovers of Russian gangsters Yuri (Alexis Denisof) and Sergei (Brian McCardie), are becoming restless with their lives. Misha's discontent intensifies after a reunion with her old girlfriend, Helena Toretti (Jennifer Esposito). Misha also knows that the Russians are in cahoots with her former boyfriend, casino manager Troy (Steve Harris), who's planning an inside job before the casino is taken over. Strapped for cash, Helena moves in with her ex-husband, Detective Jack Toretti (Todd Field), but he gives her the boot when she tries to blackmail him. Meanwhile, the hot-headed Russians kill the crooked cops Troy had lined up for the heist. Jack decides to take their place, since he's had just about enough of his low-paying job. Misha and Lexi, who've become lovers, agree with Helena that they deserve a piece of the pie from the bums in their lives. Though these feminist amateurs think they can double cross a bunch of cold-blooded killers and cut themselves in on the robbery, the path the big pay-off is littered with obstacles, including Lexi's drug abuse, the Russians' volatility and Troy's desire to keep the entire pot for himself. Screenwriter Paul Horsun stacks the deck against the film's piggishly chauvinistic men, but the constantly complaining women are hardly more likable. Director Gigi Gaston fails to keep the caper mechanics on target, and doesn't fare much better with the film's battle-of-the-sexes gimmick.