Oz (Matthew Perry) is an unhappily married dentist who discovers that his new neighbor, Jimmy (Bruce Willis), is a notorious contract killer who has a bounty on his head.  Oz’s wife, Sophie (Rosanna Arquette), wants Oz to rat Jimmy out to the local mob boss (Kevin Pollack) and collect the bounty.  Oz is deeply in debt and has a hard time saying no to his wife but he and Jimmy have actually become friends.  Also, Oz is falling in love with his dental assistant, Jill (Amanda Peet) despite the fact that Jill is also a contract killer, though she’s still a “virgin” because she’s falling in love with the man that she was hired to kill.

The Whole Nine Yards is an amusing comedy that works because of the chemistry between Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis.  When it came to his movie career, Perry was always Chandler Bing no matter who he was playing but that didn’t matter because everyone loved Chandler.  I know I loved Chandler, even if Joey would have been the Friend that I probably would have ended up flirting with.  Perry was a naturally funny actor and he and Willis made for a good team in The Whole Nine Yards.  I also really liked Amanda Peet’s energetic performance as Jill and Kevin Pollack as the crime boss.  The Whole Nine Yards is basically a violent sitcom.  It may not be a great movie but Perry and Willis will make you laugh.

It’s a little hard to rewatch now.  Matthew Perry is gone.  Bruce Willis is retired for health reasons.  They’re both having so much fun in this movie and are so entertaining to watch that it’s impossible not feel a little sad watching them.  But the movie also shows what Perry and Willis could do, even with so-so material.  Watching the movie made me laugh and it made me sad but mostly it just made me appreciate their talent.  We can mourn what we’ve lost while still appreciating what we had.