by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
C+ PG-13 104 min
In these desperate times of downsizing and threats of recession, with jobs being out-sourced to India and other countries, movie audiences will get vicarious thrills from this medium-cool wish-fulfillment fantasy. The picture co-stars Diane Keaton and Ted Danson as Bridget and Don Cardigan, an upper class couple living in a spacious home. When viewers are first introduced to the couple, Don is shredding money and flushing it down the toilet and Bridget is running out the back door with her loot as the police close in. Thus, the story evolves in flashback.
Don was living la dolce vita with a six figure income as a top executive with a big corporation. Suddenly, he is downsized and soon he is swimming in debt. Desperate to generate cash flow, Bridget takes a job cleaning toilets at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. There she meets her co-conspirators, Jackie Truman (Katie Holmes) and spunky Nina Brewster (Queen Latifah). Nina’s job is to destroy worn-out greenbacks.
Before long, the women get the pregnant idea – why shred the money, why not just stuff it in their undergarments and walk out the door? Presumably, The Feds will not know the difference, the money is supposed to be destroyed. Of course, viewers know that these ditzy broads will not get away with it, but it’s fun to imagine getting an easy windfall of cash–every persons’ dream.
Diane Keaton dominates the cast with her funny and savvy performance. Queen Latifah steals her scenes as the wise-cracking big momma bank robber. The heist puts the spirit back into the women’s lives with an infusion of cash to make them feel powerful. Bridget is giddy with her new wealth and talking trash to her husband. Everyone has dreamed of easy money.
The story is based on a 2001 BBC television TV movie, Hot Money. Callie Khouri directed the shoot with even pacing and skilled scene-craft. Katie Holmes plays her character as a kooky, dancing girl connected to her iPod as she stuffs cash in a waste basket to be picked up by Bridget. The trio of heist-meisters hold the movie together with their natural camaraderie on the set. At the halfway point, the premise wears thin and the setups wane as unimaginative.
Still, the vivacious trio of actresses make the most of the lame concept with their skillful comedic acting and compatible chemistry together. It’s light entertainment that doesn’t require any thinking–perfect for mass American audiences. Nonetheless, just having an all-star cast doesn’t guarantee that this movie will do big numbers. However, it’s an enticing story of money for nothing that will bring many viewers into the theater.
In real life, money for destruction would never be exposed to handling by hand or allowing people to walk out of the bank with money stuffed in their underwear. This is strictly a fantasy. Yet, the trio of robbers in this story have a ball with the stolen cash and exercise no discretion when flashing it around. Easy come easy go.
The problem with this heist tale is having rank amateurs involved with no knowledge of laundering the hot cash or staying cool after the job. Illicit money makes people crazy with sudden power, but it’s only temporary until the cash is a ball and chain that drags the robbers down. It’s like finding cash on the street – it’s a rush but then the cash has karma attached. You spend it but it doesn’t feel as satisfying as earning the money that one spends. The trio of characters in this film find out that truth. But they have a great time in the interim.
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