Here's a simple formula: The more a movie that mysteriously turns up on the video shelves with no fanfare resembles a big-budget theatrical release, the more likely it is to be a troubled film. Take This World, Then The Fireworks: Simply being based on a Jim Thompson story ought to give it substance enough to be, at worst, a decent straight-to-video noir. But while This World also has a nice look, fancy '50s-jazz-album-style opening credits, and name after name of prime B- and C-list talent—Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, Sheryl Lee, Will Patton, Seymour Cassel, and Rue McClanahan—it rises only to the level of barely acceptable late-night cable fare. Zane and Gershon play twins who, shortly after the film opens, resume their lifelong incestuous relationship following a three-year hiatus. Complications ensue when Zane, a hard-boiled reporter, becomes involved with a masochistic lady cop (Lee), and Gershon's career as a prostitute begins to catch up with her. It's all attractively done, but about as involving as an overbaked episode of Silk Stalkings set in the '50s. Aside from a couple of enthusiastic sex scenes, McClanahan's histrionics in her role as Gershon and Zane's aging mother prove to be the film's most interesting element. And when that's the best thing you have going for you, it's probably a good idea to watch something else.