This is one of the best dialog movies I have ever seen. Through a haze of pot smoke, the leads dance artfully like fencers, tearing each other to pieces with the English language. The film is about several friends whose lives are so meaningless and drug-filled that all they can do is turn on each other like rabid dogs. Their lives are empty, but they don't realize it.

The story is an excuse for the characterization and the verbal sparring. Eddie (Sean Penn) is an addled movie exec. His friend Phil (Chazz Palminteri) is a psychopath with dramatic inclinations. His friend Mickey (Kevin Spacey) is a cold, smooth bastard who defines narcissism for the 90s. His girlfriend Darlene (Robin Wright Penn) is, in reality, bored by him and his semantic games. The only one among them who really understands how pitiful the others are is Mickey, who uses his knowledge to feel superior, even though he's not far above the muck. Eddie knows something is missing, but turns to drugs for meaning, not realizing that his constant haze is the beginning and end of his problems.

I can't say enough about the dialog. It seems stagy to some, but it's heaven for me. It's also often hilarious. Goon-like Palminteri utters perfect gems like "I have pushed thought to the point where it is no more use than a head full of car horns," and Penn is perfect as the neurotic Eddie. I am now convinced that his 1999 Best Actor nomination was to make up for overlooking this role. He is one of the five best actors working today. The spirit of Jeff Spicoli is exorcized.