Rowdy Herrington’s sturdy crime caper both stands and delivers, says Matty.

Today THE STICKUP is best known — if, indeed, it’s even remembered at all — as a footnote in the private lives of stars James Spader and Leslie Stefanson. They met on set, fell in love, had a child, and are still together (well, as of this writing anyway…). However, The Stickup is notable for another union — or, rather, a reunion. Spader and writer/director Rowdy Herrington (Road House (1989)) previously paired on natty ‘80s sleeper Jack’s Back (1988). Post The Stickup, they promptly teamed again on the brilliant I Witness (2003) — and straight after that, Spader and Stefanson went on to feature in Nu Image’s enjoyable The Thing (1982) riff, Alien Hunter (2003). 

Cited by Herrington as a personal favourite, The Stickup’s most endearing attribute is its authoritative approach. It’s not a rough or challenging watch by any means; but nor is it basic or rudimentary either. It is, though, clearly the work of a helmer operating at full tilt. Marking Herrington’s return to the megaphone following A Murder of Crows (1998), The Stickup feels like he’s proving a point; getting back out there in wake of a passion project failing to fly (A Murder of Crows didn’t bag the big theatrical release Herrington wanted). While The Stickup’s low budget is betrayed by a few bland-looking sets and some rinky-dink props, it oozes a real cinematic sensibility in terms of style, pace and mood.

Shots are nicely judged and impactful.

It’s tightly edited and it moves.

It’s solid stuff. 

Anchored by Herrington’s recurring theme of a man being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, the plot sees Spader’s former city cop-cum-suspected bank robber playing cat n’ mouse with a small-town sheriff (David Keith). Stefanson, meanwhile, essays Keith’s ex-wife and Spader’s love interest. The characters are backwater-noir cut-outs but the cast — bolstered by John Livingston and the mighty Robert Miano — submit game performances. And as you’d expect, Spader and Stefanson’s chemistry is electric.

Lensed in British Columbia in February 2001, The Stickup premiered at the Muskegon Film Festival, Michigan on 10th May 2002 and won the short-lived fest’s Best Feature award. Produced by Steve Beswick’s Promark Entertainment Group, it subsequently hit tape via the shingle’s deal with Artisan. As with many Promark titles of the period (cf. Styx (2001), One Way Out (2002), Last Run (2001)) the film was made available as a Blockbuster Exclusive through Promark’s pact with two companies the rental giant had a financial hand in, DEJ Productions and First Look Media. In the U.K. The Stickup surfaced on VHS and DVD through another long-standing Promark distributor, High Fliers, on 9th December 2002. High Fliers issued fellow Promark confection Federal Protection (2002) — by Last Run’s Anthony Hickox, no less — on the same day.

USA ● 2002 ● Thriller ● 92mins

James Spader, Leslie Stefanson, David Keith ● Wri./Dir. Rowdy Herrington