October 19, 1996 -- One of the movies that I've been wishing would come to town has made it, and it lives up to its advance billing.

"2 Days in the Valley" is a slick, well-written film with interesting characters and a converging plot some critics have compared to "Pulp Fiction," and some Robert Altman films.

While it isn't as good a movie as "Pulp Fiction" and isn't as well directed or written, it does have a couple of advantages: Not all of its characters are amoral idiots and there's even one or two of them you might care about. In what may be a salute to Tarantino, Lawrence Tierney from "Reservoir Dogs," has a cameo role in the film.

One of the main characters is Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello), a washed up hit man with a bad wig and a heart of gold. He thinks he's been given a second chance when he's hired by another hit man, Lee Woods (James Spader) to assist him.

On the run, Pizzo takes four hostages in an upscale San Fernando Valley home owned by the hilariously obnoxious Allan Hopper (Greg Cruttwell). There he falls for Hopper's assistant, Susan Parish (Glenne Headly). One of the other two hostages is a suicidal ex-director, Teddy Peppers, played by a real director, Paul Mazursky ("Down and Out in Beverly Hills").

Also involved in the murder scheme the movie revolves around is Helga Svelgen (Charlize Theron). There is a very strong sex scene between Spader and Theron. There is also graphic violence in the movie.

High profile actors in the film include Jeff Daniels ("Speed"), Teri Hatcher (who plays Lois in the TV Superman show), Eric Stolz, Louise Fletcher and Marsha Mason. Hatcher is a little out of her league here, but the rest do a fine job, especially Aiello, Mazursky and Cruttwell.

Mazursky delivers one of the best lines in the film when he observes, "It's been my observation that losers are more truthful than winners." Amen. Here's to some losers who sometimes get to win. This film rates a B+.

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