Edward Burns

A groom (Ed Burns) and his four attendants wrestle with issues related to friendship and maturity a week before the big day. The story follows the misadventures and confusion of a groom (Ed Burns) and his four groomsmen the week before a wedding. Wrestling with issues of fatherhood, honesty and growing up, the five thirty-somethings discover their extended adolescence might be finally coming to a close. —CartmanKun@aol.com

A group of Grifters rip off their latest mark and celebrate, while the group leader, Jake Vig (Edward Burns), explains the art of the con. In their latest con, they get their mark Lionel Dolby (Leland Orser) to pay them a briefcase full of money, to get away from being an accomplice to an apparent homicide (Jake made it look like he shot Gordo in a drug deal gone wrong). The local cops Omar and Lloyd work with Jake for a 10% cut, to add to the dramatic effect. When one of the four, Big Al (Louis Lombardi), is found shot to death, the other three learn that the latest money they stole belonged to a local Los Angeles crime lord known as The King (Dustin Hoffman). Lionel was an accountant for The King, and the money he gave to Jake was collection money that Lionel was holding on The King's behalf. When questioned, Lionel revealed the the sequence of events with Jake and his group. The King tracked Big Al, when Al made a large cash payment to a bookie, and bragged about how he had carried out a big score, which netted him the cash. Jake goes to meet The King, and accepts that he didn't know that Lionel worked for him. But he refuses to pay back the money, since The King killed Al. The Kind orders that the Grifters work for him and steal money from Morgan Price (Robert Forster), a rival who owns a bank. Jake enlists the aid of his remaining partners, Gordo (Paul Giamatti) and Miles (Brian Van Holt), and also convinces an independent con artist named Lily (Rachel Weisz) to round out their foursome. The King, a ruthless killer with ADHD, demands that one of his men, Lupus (Franky G), also go along. The con involves bribing a bank vice president to wire $5 million money offshore disguised as a business loan. Jake will withdraw the money and bring it back into the US in a carry on bag. Jake owed The King only $150,000. Jake asks The King to lend him $200,000 to bribe the banker. The King is livid with Jake, but Jake is confident of himself, and The King does extend him the additional credit. The gang finds Leon Ashby (John Carroll Lynch), VP of Corporate loans at Price Bank and decide that he will be the mark. Leon has no friends, no family, no life. Lily is the shell, who is supposed to make the whole pitch believable to Leon. But Lily dresses in a red wig, and wears a pigeon themed scarf, both of which Jake says has put a huge jinx on the entire operation. Lily proceeds with the plan and makes initial contact with Leon, posing as a start-up executive, looking for a business loan. She invites Leon for dinner with the gang, who also play their roles as executives of the start up. At dinner, the group convinces Leon that they have a buyer lined up for the company at 5-6X valuation, and need the loan for working capital till the sale takes place. That night Jake and Lily have sex. Leon agrees to sanction the loan the next day, in exchange for his own cut. The plan hits a snag when Special Agent Gunther Butan (Andy García) shows up in Los Angeles looking to finally bust Jake, who he has followed for years. Butan forces corrupt LAPD detectives Omar Manzano (Luis Guzman) and Lloyd Whitworth (Donal Logue) to switch their allegiance from Jake to him. Butan had videotapes of Omar and Lloyd dealing in drugs, which could put them away for a long time. After hearing about Butan's arrival, a nervous Jake pulls the plug on the whole con. He screams at Lily when she presses Jake to continue with the scam with some changes, making her walk out. Lupus gets Jake to reconsider nixing the con, hinting that The King will torture and kill the Grifters if the plan falls short. The con is back on, although now without Lily's help. Leon wires the money to Gordo in Belize. Jake tips off Lupus that they can keep the money and cut out The King. Lupus informs The King, who decides to intercept the money at the airport. Gordo brings it to Ontario Airport, where he is met by both Butan and The King's men, both sides after the $5 million in a carry on bag. Butan arrests The King and confiscates the money. Omar and Lloyd are also arrested by Internal Affairs, based on video evidence shared by Butan. Gordo disappears. Lupus, thinking The King has the money, reveals he was the one who killed Big Al. Lupus holds Jake at gunpoint, but he is shot by Travis (Morris Chestnut), a henchman for Morgan Price. It turns out that when Lily walked out, she went straight to Price and revealed the entire con, which was taking place that minute. Price told Travis to locate Jake to find out exactly how the con was engineered, and to stop such a thing from ever happening again. Travis takes Jake to an abandoned lot, and forces him to explain the entire story. A furious Lily takes out a gun and shoots Jake. Travis demands that he and Lily both disappear immediately. Minutes later, Butan arrives in a car, and Jake sits up from a pool of blood, unharmed. The final parts of the con are revealed. Lily's "quitting" was faked; a set-up to confuse Lupus. Butan is actually an old confidant of Jake's. He managed to "confiscate" the money and arrest The King at the same time. Butan has the money, and it's split five ways. Jake was wearing squibs to fake his own death in the lot. In the end, everyone was in on everything except for The King and Lupus (the first marks), Price and Travis (the second, bigger marks), and the two corrupt LAPD detectives, who have been arrested. The four Grifters reunite and celebrate, driving off into the night.

The story opens as two men come through US customs in New York. Oleg (Oleg Taktarov) is taking pictures, and Emil (Karel Roden) is nervous. Oleg is interested in photography and movies, and spouts on to the customs agent. Across town Robert Hawkins (Kelsey Grammer) is arguing with his assistant Cassandra (Kim Cattrall) about his news network, stating that tragedy sells more. Cassandra wants to raise ratings, and they decide to film Detective Eddie Fleming (Robert DeNiro) as he does a stakeout. Eddie is a drunk, but a regular media attraction when sober. Eddie preps for his bust, and Robert's film crew follows the action, but misses the key scene. Oleg goes "shopping" for a camera, then films Emil as they arrive at Milos's (Vladimir Mashkov) apartment to collect their share of a bank job. Milos tells Emil that Oleg got them caught and an argument ensures. Email wants his money, but Milos does not have it. Emil stabs Milos and strangles his wife, while Oleg films and neighbor Daphne (Vera Farmiga) watches, hidden. Emil hears her leaving but cannot stop her. Emil hides the bodies with a "Bohemian BBQ", dousing them in acetone. Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) gets the call for the fire. After subduing a would-be mugger, he arrives at the apartment fire, crossing paths with Eddie. Jordy finds a timer and deduces the fire is a homicide. Daphne tries to flag Jordy down, but the crowd is too big. Emil has Daphne's wallet, and realizes she is in the country illegally. He finds a card for an escort service and calls the number, asking for a Czech girl. He and oleg start learning American values from shows like Rosie O'Donnell and Robert Hawkin's. The hooker arrives, and Emil tries to get information from her, but she knows nothing, and Emil kills her. Jordy and his partner Bobby (John DiResta) return to the fire station and are rebuked by Fire Chief Marshal Declan Duffy (James Handy) for handing evidence to Eddie. Jordy tries to get a sketch of Daphne, sensing she has a story to tell. He returns to the burned-out apartment and finds Eddie. Eddie gets a call about the dead hooker, and tags along. Eddie deduces that there were two killers, and the murder weapon may match the one used on Milos. Eddie and Jordy visit the escort service and talk to Rose (Charlize Theron). Rose recognizes Daphne from the police sketch, and also reveals that Emil and Oleg were inquiring about her. Eddie and Jordy race to the nail salon where Daphne works. Oleg and Emil are already there (Oleg filming, getting his "15 minutes of fame"). Emil gives her a warning, and they leave right before Jordy arrives. The cops see them and give chase, but they escape, beating Detective Jackson (Avery Brooks) and stealing his wallet/gun, and also shooting Bobby. Eddie fires a shot, hitting Emil in the foot, but they escape. Eddie and Jordy interview Daphne, and she reveals that she once shot a cop who was raping her sister. Jordy asks to interview her alone, since she is scared. Daphne tries to get Jordy to let her shower before going to the police station. Eddie meets with his girlfriend Nicolette (Melina Kanakaredes), and tries to propose to her in Greek. Nicolette is a reporter, and gets an urgent call from the network, right in the middle of his proposal. Email and Oleg go through Detective Jackson's wallet and find Eddie's home address. At the police station, Jordy's boss complains to him about the shower, but Eddie covers for him, although he laters tells Jordy it was a mistake. At home, Eddie is working on his proposal routine when Oleg and Emil show up and knock him out. When he comes to, they have bound him to a chair. Emil lays out his plan: he will plead insanity to the murders, based on the fact that they film their murders, and will later write books about their experience (like they've seen on TV). Eddie fights them, but is stabbed to death. At Eddie's wake, Emil calls Robert and tells him he has a film of Eddie's death, and wants to sell it. Robert pays them. Meanwhile, Jordy takes Daphne to her apartment to collect her things, and the light switch starts a booby-trap - fire. Oleg and Email watch from an adjacent building. They leave as the fire department arrives, and Jordy escapes with Daphne. Meanwhile, the police have learned about the tape of Eddie's death, and try to get it before it's broadcast. Oleg and Emil celebrate in a restaurant as the tape airs, and other patrons recognize them. Oleg and Email argue over the film credits, and Oleg stabs Emil and leaves with the money. Hawkins arrives with his TV crew and a lawyer, but Emil realizes Oleg toook the money. Jordy bursts in and Emil is arrested, proclaiming his insanity. Jordy takes Emil to an abandoned warehouse, but cannot kill him in cold blood. The police arrive and take Emil into custody. Emil's lawyer (Bruce Cutler) starts Emil's defense, and Emil offers him 30% of his book/movie revenue. Oleg angrily watches Emil getting press. Daphne goes back to the Czech Republic to stand trial, and Jordy comes under fire for how he dealt with the mugger. Jordy is on scene when Emil is led to his arraignment, intending to kill him, but cannot. Oleg shows Hawkins the tape where Emil explains his plan to use the double jeopardy laws to excape prosecution, and tries to shoot Emil. Emil grabs a gun and shoots Oleg, then grabs Nicolette. Jordy shoots Emil repeatedly, killing him. Oleg films himself dying; Hawkins grabs his camera. Jordy returns Eddie's badge to Nicolette. Hawkins offers to help Jordy, and gets punched in the face. Jordy stalks off, and the credits roll.

During the Normandy Invasion in 1944, a group of U.S soldiers is sent on a mission to find and bring back a paratrooper whose brothers are killed in the line of fire.