...but fails to gel in a satisfactory way. Neophyte director/writer/editor/producer Brett A. Hart simply bites off more than he can chew. The plot hinges on a time-worn cliché of role reversal, and simply isn't compelling. The dialogue is at times trite and forgettable; there's nothing to really draw us into sympathizing with the ostensible protagonist. Both leads (Luke "Blade II" Goss and Lance "Near Dark" Henriksen) are pretty much cyphers until the predictable Act 3 revelations, and thus little empathy is engendered for either character. Neither actor evinces much range, though admittedly the script offers them slim opportunity to do much in the first place. Poor Dee "The Howling" Wallace is obviously taking a paycheck, along with Tiny "Jackie Brown" Lister and the rest of the negligible supporting cast. A lot of the photography is quite nice, evincing great effort to keep things "in motion," despite occasional lapses of technical quality. Scott "Hack!" Glascow's score is also laudable in establishing mood during otherwise dull transitions. Ultimately, it all boils down to the script, which fails to deliver. Its title unfortunately but aptly describes the substance of the film. "Bone Dry" remains of interest only to Henriksen fans, and Mr. Hart's backers. It remains to be seen if Mr. Hart can deliver something with a bit more juice in it. I'd have hated to have paid to sit through this in a theater, that's for certain.
