It's a busy time to be Jean-Claude Van Damme. As mentioned previously, he just wrapped production on his latest project Swelter,a project that sounds like an interesting meld of The Last Stand and The Long Kiss Goodnight with a taste of Banshee (one of Impact's fave TV shows of the last year) The plot? Ten years ago a gang of five criminals stole more than US$100 million from the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas. Cut to today and four of them have broken out of prison and are on the trail of their former accomplice and the money with which he escaped. The catch is that their target - Van Damme - is now a sheriff with apparently no memory of his previous life... but who will be forced to confront it.
But Van Damme also has two other projects set for iminent release, both of which showcase a very different Jean-Claude than we're used to seeing. The Peter Hyams directed thriller Enemies Closer / Bad Country stars Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones, features a disturbing turn by Jean-Claude as Xander, a vegan bad guy looking like an older version of his character from Time Cop. There's also the comedy Welcome to the Jungle, which features Jean-Claude as Storm, an off-the-wall motivational trainer and the man who weilds the talk-talk stick
Chris (Adam Brody) is a workplace weakling who doesn't have the balls to stand up to the slick office bully, Phil (Rob Huebel), who steals all his ideas... and he has yet to muster the courage to ask out cute HR manager, Lisa (Megan Boone). Even Chris' only friend, Jared (Eric Edelstein), a sarcastic slacker IT guy who secretly monitors everyone's porn intake, slams Chris for being a coward But when a team-building "wilderness seminar" goes horribly wrong, and unhinged ex-marine teambuilding coach Storm Rothchild (Jean-Claude Van Damme) gets mauled by a cougar - Chris and his co-workers find themselves stranded on a deserted tropical island with no rescue in sight... and someone's going to have to step up and take charge. Phil quickly proclaims himself "God" of the island - but Chris has Boy Scout skills and would be far better suited to lead the group if he could overcome his fear - of everything. Can Chris finally man-up to Phil, release his inner-beast, get them rescued and win the girl? Or will Phil triumph, as usual, while Chris cowers?
Early word on the film speaks highly of JC's comedic turn, confirming again that there's always been a lot more to the man than just being the 'muscles from Brussels'!
