15 MINUTES

In this age of Survivor, Andy Warhol’s statement that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes shows no signs of outliving its own minutes of fame. Now movies are getting into the act. In the aptly titled 15 Minutes, two Slavic gangsters, wild and crazy types not much removed from the classic SNL bit, kill a double-crossing ex-partner and his wife and torch their apartment. Enter celebrity NYPD inspector Eddie Flemming (played with cynical, boozy aplomb by Robert De Niro). He’s gotten his picture in People magazine, but he actually is a good cop, even though he steps on the toes of hotshot arson investigator Jordy Warsaw (a whiny Edward Burns). The two form a tense and unlikely team to hunt down the killers, who have decided to beat the rap by making a video of their crimes, pleading insanity, and becoming millionaire celebrities.

So much for plausibility and trenchant cultural insight. Some of the satire has punch, especially when Kelsey Grammer as the sleazy host of a tabloid TV show is the target. It’s all trashy, hypocritical fun until director John Herzfeld unleashes a bold but gimmicky plot twist near the end that reveals the film’s essential phoniness. The biggest problem with 15 Minutes is that it’s 15 minutes too long.

— Peter Keough