This marks the third incarnation of “3 AM” at the Sundance Film Festival (invited twice previous into the writers lab for the script). After viewing the final product, maybe the Utah folks would agree to a fourth try?
“3 AM” is a disjointed story of three cab drivers in the big city of New York: Hershey (Danny Glover), a failed basketball player who can not seem to get a hold on his emotions; Rasha (Sergej Trifunovic), an immigrant from Bosnia who is in love with a bath house girl (a side story that leads directly to a dead end); and Salgado (Michelle Rodriguez), an angry-at-the-world, completely insane Latina who has delusions involving evil spirits. There is also George (Pam Grier) who dates Hershey, but since she has about twelve minutes of screen time, and nothing to do during that precious time, she is not even worth summarizing.
Unfortunately, there is no chemistry between Glover and Grier and the duo of Salgado and Rasha should share a jail cell. Since this film is trying to be a “character study” ala “Boogie Nights” or “Magnolia” the audience must, in any way, be able to relate with some, if not all, of the characters being studied. Sadly, only prisoners or lawyers possess the patience to understand the illogical mindset of these detestable people.
“3 AM” meanders from story to story with no real purpose or focus. There is also a side story of a “serial cab killer” which goes nowhere and is simply there to fill the blood and violence quota. On the unnecessary topic, the out-of-place cameos by Spike Lee, Walt Frasier and Pepa (the other half of “Salt”) really bring the viewer out of the world that the film is trying to create. About the only success involved with this film is making the audience unanimously agree to set off a bomb on the entire city and hope the innocent rats and roaches survive.
