Chain of Fools

Chain of Fools (also known by its production title Shiny New Enemies) is a 2000 heist comedy/romance film about a hapless barber named Kresk (Steve Zahn).

Plot

Thomas Kresk is a loser -- he isn't good at his job, he's been tossed out of his home, and his wife just dumped him for the marriage counselor. Now he's depressed, and contemplating suicide. And yes, things get worse: a criminal named Avnet (Jeff Goldblum) has stolen three priceless coins, and decided to blackmail Bollingsworth (Tom Wilkinson), his billionaire partner in crime. After Kresk overhears this, he almost gets shot -- and Avnet ends up impaled on a pair of barbers' scissors.

Now Kresk is in a considerably nastier situation, so he steals the gun and the coins. But things take a sharp turn when he hires a hit man named Mikey (Elijah Wood), and discovers that the hit man is only seventeen and emotionally traumatized by his parents' suicide. And that Kresk is falling for the cop/Playboy model Sgt. Meredith Kolko (Salma Hayek), and that his nephew Scottie (Devin Drewitz) has now swallowed the coins. Now Kresk is in over his head, and has to deal with the strange and sometimes dangerous people around him.

Cast

• Steve Zahn
• Salma Hayek
• Jeff Goldblum
• David Cross
• Elijah Wood