Diamond Men

Released 2001
Stars Robert Forster, Donnie Wahlberg, Bess Armstrong, Jasmine Guy
Directed by Daniel M. Cohen

Forster plays Eddie Miller, a diamond salesman who has long traveled the mid-sized cities of Pennsylvania, selling to the owners of jewelry stores. He has a heart attack, recovers, and is told that he is no longer "insurable" to drive around with $1 million in stock in his car. His boss introduces him to Bobby Walker (Donnie Wahlberg), a brash kid whose sales experience is limited mostly to pretzels. Eddie is to train Bobby to take over his route.

The story, written and directed by Daniel M. Cohen (himself a former diamond salesman), seems to be shaping up as a buddy movie with a good woman at the end of the road. But Cohen has laid the preparations for a series of unexpected developments, which I will not reveal. The movie keeps surprising us. First it's about salesmen, and then it's about lonely men, and then it's about sex, and then it's about romance, and then it's about crime. It reinvents itself with every act.

Summary by Roger Ebert

This is a nice little movie, which is just the kind I'd like to make myself, and it's an example of why low-budget indie films are so popular today. At first I thought it was going to be a riff on "The Odd Couple," but that changes rather quickly. The cocky, brash Bobby (Donnie Wahlberg) has a turnaround after being chewed out by Eddie (Robert Forster), and the movie takes a turn. It's a pleasant surprise to see Bobby learn some humility, and he genuinely grows to care about his mentor. It's a joy to watch their friendship grow and to watch Eddie take Bobby under his wing. The movie then takes several quiet turns with small surprises that keep the story fresh, and it closes with a twist that adds a happy ending that's right in line with the rest of the movie's tone. I think it would have been a stronger movie if it had ended with a dark ending concerning Eddie losing his job and home, but I don't think it really would have fit. This is a quietly joyous film that entertains throughout, and I think the ending mirrors director Daniel Cohen's personal feelings in being able to make this movie himself. Roger Ebert states Cohen was a former diamond salesman, and this is his first substantial movie. I think both he and Eddie hit the jackpot. --Bill Alward, March 22, 2003