Once Upon a Time in Venice
Once Upon a Time in Venice is a 2017 American crime comedy directed by Mark Cullen in his first film, written with his brother Robb Cullen. Bruce Willis stars as Steve Ford, a Los Angeles private detective, with Thomas Middleditch as his assistant John. The story follows Ford as he takes on odd jobs, including a case to find a young woman named Nola, which leads to trouble with her brothers and a run‑in with a gang leader named Spyder (Jason Momoa).
To deal with the mess, Ford tries to steal back his friend Tino’s car from Spyder, while juggling his dog, his sister-in-law Katey and her daughter, and a circle of criminals. The plot expands as Ford and John chase clues involving a graffiti artist, a loan shark, a shady real estate dealer named Lew, and a gang led by Prince. After a series of twists, Ford makes deals, recovers the dog in a rough exchange, and receives a childhood home from Lew, which he then gives to his sister and niece. John is kidnapped by Prince, setting up a rescue mission.
The cast also includes Jason Momoa, John Goodman, Famke Janssen, Adam Goldberg and Jessica Gomes. The film was released in a limited theatrical run and on video on demand on June 16, 2017, by RLJ Entertainment. It earned about $856,000 worldwide and received mostly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes ran about 21% positive, and Metacritic scored it 28 out of 100.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:25 (CET).