Flynn Parker (Alessandro Nivola) is a corrupt health inspector who loses his job for not disclosing his criminal past. His girlfriend Maggie (Amanda Peet) moves out for keeping too many secrets. His con artist father Nat (Christopher Walken) tells him he's dying of cancer, and they go on a cross-country trip to New Mexico for an experimental treatment. Nat is proud of living on no more than $5 a day.

There isn't any real tension in this. I can't really understand why Flynn would go on the trip. He must be thinking his father is lying. It's completely out of character that Nivola has already laid out for Flynn. It seems much more likely that he would put his father on the Greyhound.

That aside, it's still nice to see Christopher Walken chew up the screen in this indie. Nivola is a completely low energy dude. He's not very compelling. There is a desperate need for funnier jokes to make this a fun dark comedy. It just isn't funny. Some of it is mildly cute.

Ritchie Flynn (Alessandro Nivola) gets fired from his job about the same time his girlfriend (Amanda Peet) leaves him. His dad Nat, (Christopher Walken),in Atlantic City writes him and claims he is dying from a brain tumor and needs his help to go to New Mexico for experimental treatment. Nat is a con artist who manages to get by using the free offers and give-aways that corporations come up with. Nat has a route planned where they can stay for free at various locations, as well as eat free at Howard Johnson's and get free gas from Chevron while driving a pink PT Cruiser with "Sweet and Low" on it. Talk about the ultimate coupon-er.

The drive allows father and son to bond. During the trip Ritchie calls his ex-girlfriend to give her his pathetic bio, except she never picks up the phone. The scene on the cover with Sharon Stone in the car with the two of them, never happens and is just a cover shot. Sharon Stone plays a bit part as Ritchie's former babysitter, now a scamming cougar. The movie goes along very pleasant, only to end with a scam I found beneath both Nat and Ritchie and a bit anti-climatic.

"The Brothers Bloom" is a far superior con artist movie.

Irrepresibly wily'n'rascally small-time con man Nat Parker (a marvelously sly, vibrant, and charismatic performance by Christopher Walken) attempts to reconnect with his troubled and estranged failure son Ritchie (an excellent portrayal by Alessandro Nivola) by forcing the reluctant lad to accompany him on a cross country road trip. During their journey the duo encounter a colorful array of folks and make amends while Nat pulls off a series of brazen and ingenious schemes. Director Nigel Cole, working from a smart and sweet script by Neal and Tippi Dobrofsky, relates the funny, poignant, and entertaining story at a snappy pace, maintains a winningly breezy'n'quirky tone throughout, offers an amusing sense of inspired low-key and likable oddball humor, and pulls off a pitch-perfect blend of fresh comedy and affecting drama. The sturdy acting from the able cast rates as a real substantial plus: Walken and Nivola display a disarmingly natural and engaging chemistry in the leads, with top-rate support from Sharon Stone as sassy former beauty queen Dolores Jones, Amanda Peet as Ritchie's fed-up girlfriend Maggie, Peter Coyote as shifty rich jerk Burt Kruger, and Dean Cain as amiable sales rep Rick Carlson. Moreover, the nicely moving theme about reconciliation gives this picture a special extra heart, charm, and warmth. Kudos are also in order for Peter Donahue's smooth jazzy score and Alex Wurman's sunny cinematography. A pleasingly loopy little delight.