1999, R, 103 minutes

Some movies try to grasp your innermost emotions and take the entire movie-going experience to another level, while other movies are simply out to have fun. Go is exactly this: an adrenaline-rushed, fast moving, highly entertaining good time.

Set in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, the film follows three different stories which all start at the same place -- a supermarket. The first story follows a twenty-something girl named Ronna (Sarah Polley), who is strapped for cash and about to be evicted from her apartment. She works at the already mentioned supermarket, where she fills in for her buddy Simon (Desmond Askew) as a first time drug dealer. Two television personalities, Adam and Zack (Scott Wolf and Jay Mohr), are out to get 20 hits of ecstasy, and Ronna plans to fill the order. Things of course go badly (as in any movie) and then we head into the second story following Simon and his pals, who are headed to Vegas for the weekend. They too, get into a lot of trouble, including a terrific car chase. Then we head into the third story, which follows Adam and Zack, who spend part of the day with an eccentric police officer (William Fichtner) and later end up at a dinner party from hell. By the time these three stories come to an end, they will have all overlapped on several occasions and tie together quite nicely.

As I said before, Go can be summarized in one word: fun. In just under two hours of runtime, so much happens that it would be impossible to not stay interested. Just when you think you know where the story is going, it takes a complete 180 with one surprise after the next. Nearly all of the characters are in or around their early twenties, but make no mistake, this is not a teen-flick. This film is really about being young and getting away with a lot of things you wouldn't be able to do when you're older. Parts of Go are crude and grimy, which some people might hold against it, but to me it was simply all part of the unpredictable ride.

John August's script for this film is razor sharp. From the witty dialogue to the clever twists, he does an amazing job at shaping a large number of characters in very little time, and the story just keeps moving. Doug Liman's direction of Go is equally solid. He keeps the lighting appropriately dark throughout and the cinematography was fresh and stylish. I would love to see these two team up again sometime in the near future.

Because of the use of unparalleled storytelling (in Los Angeles I might add), many people have called it a younger Pulp Fiction. While many similarities can indeed be found between the two films, Go is by no means some cheap Tarrantino rip-off. I can assure you this film has a distinct voice of its own.

The excellent cast is another one of Go's strong points. Liman managed to get his hands on some of the best young actors in all of Hollywood and they are what make this film work. Sarah Polley gives a notable performance, as do Katie Holmes, Timothy Olyphant, Desmond Askew, and Taye Diggs. However, the trio of actors in the third and final story really steal the show. William Fichtner's "cop with an ulterior motive" character is absolutely hilarious, and Scott Wolf and Jay Mohr are superb as a gay couple.

Go is a fast ride of a film that's certainly worth watching. If you think you can handle a movie full of drugs, sex, humor, great characters, and lots of action -- you won't want to miss it.