Editing 2 Days in the Valley

{{short description|1996 film by John Herzfeld}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = 2 Days in the Valley
| image          = 2daysinthevalley.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[John Herzfeld]]
| producer       = Herb Nanas<br />Jeff Wald
| writer         = John Herzfeld
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Danny Aiello]]
* [[Greg Cruttwell]]
* [[Jeff Daniels]]
* [[Teri Hatcher]]
* [[Glenne Headly]]
* [[Peter Horton]]
* [[Marsha Mason]]
* [[Paul Mazursky]]
* [[James Spader]]
* [[Eric Stoltz]]
* [[Charlize Theron]]<!-- per poster block-->
}}
| music          = [[Anthony Marinelli]]
| cinematography = [[Oliver Wood (cinematographer)|Oliver Wood]]
| editing        = [[Jim Miller (film editor)|Jim Miller]]<br />Wayne Wahrman
| studio         = [[Rysher Entertainment]]<ref>https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60607-2-DAYSINTHEVALLEY?sid=3821aeb4-743c-4619-92e2-502477a3c24d&sr=11.813583&cp=1&pos=0</ref>
| distributor    = [[MGM/UA Distribution Co.]]{{efn|Distributed under the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] banner.}}<ref>https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60607-2-DAYSINTHEVALLEY?sid=3821aeb4-743c-4619-92e2-502477a3c24d&sr=11.813583&cp=1&pos=0</ref>
| released       = {{Film date|1996|9|27|United States}}
| runtime        = 105 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| gross          = $11 million<ref>{{cite web |title=2 Days in the Valley |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=2daysinthevalley.htm |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=25 May 2023 |archive-date=June 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630204725/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=2daysinthevalley.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

'''''2 Days in the Valley''''' is a 1996 American [[neo noir]] [[Crime film|crime]] [[black comedy]] film written and directed by [[John Herzfeld]]. The film stars [[Danny Aiello]], [[Greg Cruttwell]], [[Jeff Daniels]], [[Teri Hatcher]], [[Glenne Headly]], [[Peter Horton]], [[Marsha Mason]], [[Paul Mazursky]], [[James Spader]], [[Eric Stoltz]], and [[Charlize Theron]]. Marketed in the UK as '''''Two Days in the Valley'''''.

==Plot==
Two hitmen, Lee Woods and [[made man|mafioso]] Dosmo Pizzo, walk into a bedroom where a sleeping couple, Olympic athlete Becky Foxx and her ex-husband Roy Foxx, are in bed. Lee injects Becky with a tranquilizer and then shoots Roy in the head. Lee and Dosmo then drive to an abandoned area off [[Mulholland Drive]], where Lee shoots Dosmo to set him up as the [[fall guy]]. Lee then blows up the car and flees the scene with his girlfriend, Helga Svelgen.

Dosmo survives, escaping the car and revealed to have been wearing a bulletproof vest. He takes shelter at the mansion of wealthy art dealer Allan Hopper, where he takes Hopper and his assistant Susan Parish hostage. Dosmo is unaware that Hopper has called his sister Audrey Hopper, a nurse, to come to the house. On her way, Audrey picks up Teddy Peppers, a down-and-out TV director contemplating suicide.

Meanwhile, Becky awakens and discovers Roy's body in bed beside her. She runs from her house and flags down two policemen, young, ambitious Wes Taylor and cynical veteran Alvin Strayer, who are driving by. Although sympathetic, Wes begins to suspect that Becky knows more than she is saying. Becky had hired Lee and Dosmo to kill Roy for $30,000 but was unaware that they would do it in her own house. Alvin later returns to his home and becomes frustrated after his window is broken by a golfer. Later that night, after wrapping a birthday present for his son, he reads a letter from his department for his resignation, making him more frustrated. 

Meanwhile, Lee goes back to the house to get the money and kills Creighton and Valenzuela, the homicide detectives working the crime scene. Wes then arrives to see if he can offer any insight on the case. Masquerading as one of the detectives, Lee lures Wes outside, and knocks him out. At Lee's hotel, Becky and Helga argue and get into a fight, in which Helga is shot and wounded. Becky escapes with Helga firing after her. Helga finds her way to Becky's house, where Lee decides to kill Helga instead of taking her to the hospital, concluding that her wound is too severe to be treated, but his gun jams. He turns to retrieve Wes's gun but finds that Helga has escaped and has flagged down a passing car, where 2 people get out to try and help her. Another car approaches which happens to carry Dosmo and his hostages. Audrey jumps out and tries to help the dying Helga, but she dies on the roadside.

Wes is caught in the middle of a shootout between Dosmo and Lee and is shot in the leg. Just before Lee can kill Dosmo, Teddy shoots Lee, killing him.

A grateful Wes allows Dosmo to take the $30,000 and escape with Susan. The following day, Teddy shows up at an anniversary party that Audrey is attending. As Susan and Dosmo drive down a highway, Dosmo contemplates using the money to start a pizzeria in Brooklyn.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Danny Aiello]] as Dosmo Pizzo
* [[Greg Cruttwell]] as Allan Hopper
* [[Jeff Daniels]] as Alvin Strayer
* [[Teri Hatcher]] as Becky Foxx
* [[Glenne Headly]] as Susan Parish
* [[Peter Horton]] as Roy Foxx
* [[Marsha Mason]] as Audrey Hopper
* [[Paul Mazursky]] as Teddy Peppers
* [[James Spader]] as Lee Woods
* [[Eric Stoltz]] as Wes Taylor
* [[Charlize Theron]] as Helga Svelgen
* [[Keith Carradine]] as Detective Creighton
* [[Louise Fletcher]] as Evelyn
* [[Austin Pendleton]] as Ralph Crupi
* [[Kathleen Luong]] as Midori
* [[Michael Jai White]] as Buck
* [[Cress Williams]] as Golfer
* [[Lawrence Tierney]] as Older Man
* [[Micole Mercurio]] as Older Woman
* [[Ada Maris]] as Detective Carla Valenzuela
}}

==Reception==
The film was given mixed reviews from critics, with a 62% rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 58 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads, "A labyrinthine thriller with a host of memorable characters, ''2 Days in the Valley'' is an uneven but intriguing thriller/black comedy."<ref>{{cite web |title=2 Days in the Valley |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/2_days_in_the_valley |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=25 May 2023 |archive-date=March 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319005931/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/2_days_in_the_valley |url-status=live }}</ref>

Writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Stephen Holden]] wrote the film "lacks the humanity of ''[[Short Cuts]]'' or the edgy hipness of ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', but it is still a sleek, amusingly nasty screen debut by a filmmaker whose television credits include an [[Amy Fisher]] melodrama."<ref name=nytimes>{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/27/movies/his-blood-is-colder-than-ice.html|title=His Blood Is Colder Than Ice|first=Stephen|last=Holden|date=September 27, 1996|access-date=May 25, 2023|archive-date=October 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008051239/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9905E5DE143CF934A1575AC0A960958260|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film three stars out of four on his rating scale, saying that it "looks like a crime movie, but crime is the medium, not the message".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/2-days-in-the-valley-1996 |date=September 27, 1996 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=2 Days in the Valley |work=Roger Ebert |access-date=April 14, 2014 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415034951/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/2-days-in-the-valley-1996 |archive-date=April 15, 2014 }}</ref> Teri Hatcher's performance earned her a [[Golden Raspberry Award]] nomination for [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress|Worst Supporting Actress]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.eonline.com/news/34070/golden-raspberries-razz-demi | title=Golden Raspberries Razz Demi | work=[[E! Online]] | date=February 10, 1997 | last=Errico | first=Marcus | access-date=October 1, 2016 | archive-date=August 22, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822101253/http://www.eonline.com/news/34070/golden-raspberries-razz-demi | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Music and score==
[[Jerry Goldsmith]] composed an original orchestral score for ''2 Days in the Valley'' that was rejected in post-production. The released film features a rock-oriented score composed by [[Anthony Marinelli]]. Goldsmith's score was released in complete form by the soundtrack label [[Intrada Records]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7636/.f|title=2 Days in the Valley (Unused Score)|first=Douglas|last=Fake|website=Intrada.com|date=June 11, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120615121456/http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7636/.f |archive-date=June 15, 2012}}</ref> A track was used from Waterlily Acoustic's album, ''Mumtaz Mahal'', featuring Taj Mahal, Chitravina N. Ravikiran and Vishwa Mohan Byatt.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0115438}}
* {{Mojo title|2daysinthevalley}}
* {{rotten tomatoes|2_days_in_the_valley}}

{{John Herzfeld}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2 Days In The Valley}}
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1996 crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1996 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1996 films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American neo-noir films]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Herzfeld]]
[[Category:Films scored by Anthony Marinelli]]
[[Category:Films set in the San Fernando Valley]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:Rysher Entertainment films]]