The Bridge to Nowhere

The Bridge to Nowhere is a 2009 crime drama film directed by Blair Underwood, starring Ving Rhames, Bijou Phillips, and Danny Masterson. The film is set in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s and follows four ambitious and street-wise friends who come together to start a company trafficking counterfeit credit cards. As their business grows, they start making more money than ever before, but soon realize that their unethical actions have made them the target of a dangerous gang leader who is out for blood.

The film opens with a montage of news footage from the early 2000s, showcasing the economic turmoil and poverty that plagued Pittsburgh at the time. Against this backdrop, we are introduced to our four main characters: Kevin (Masterson), a smooth-talking ladies' man who dreams of making it big; Jackie (Phillips), an exotic dancer and drug addict who is desperate for a way out; Eddie (Wesley Jonathan), Kevin's childhood friend and a gifted mechanic; and Bobby (Ross McCall), a recent ex-con who is looking for a fresh start.

Despite their different backgrounds and personal struggles, the four friends share a common goal: to make money and live the American Dream. After discovering a hidden talent for manufacturing counterfeit credit cards, they decide to start their own business, with Kevin as the brains behind the operation, Eddie as the mechanic, and Bobby as the muscle. Jackie, meanwhile, uses her connections in the strip club industry to market their product to high rollers.

At first, their enterprise seems like a success: they make thousands of dollars every week and start living a life of luxury. But as they climb higher up the criminal ladder, they start attracting attention from the wrong people. Specifically, a ruthless gang leader named Derrick (Rhames) who runs most of the illegal businesses in the city. Derrick initially sees the four friends as a threat to his monopoly and demands that they pay him a "protection fee" or face the consequences.

The friends refuse to pay and decide to take matters into their own hands, hiring a group of hitmen to take out Derrick's top lieutenants. This decision sets off a chain of events that leads to a violent and bloody confrontation between the friends and Derrick, with devastating consequences for all involved.

Throughout the film, Blair Underwood's direction is stylish and assured, using handheld camerawork and a muted color palette to create a sense of gritty realism. The performances by the actors are all strong, with Ving Rhames putting in a particularly nuanced turn as the conflicted and menacing Derrick. The script, written by Chris Gutierrez, is also well-crafted, exploring themes of friendship, loyalty, and the American Dream in a way that feels both timely and timeless.

Overall, The Bridge to Nowhere is a well-made and engrossing crime drama that will appeal to fans of the genre. Although it doesn't quite reach the heights of classics like Goodfellas or The Godfather, it still manages to tell a compelling and thought-provoking story about the dark side of the American Dream.