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| Available at Amazon.com |
There have been a lot of heist movies over the years with perhaps the best being the remake of Ocean’s Eleven in 2001. But most heist films center on a group of men who steal lots of money. There has rarely been a heist film that has a group of women doing the stealing. If there was one director who might have been able to pull off a successful heist film with a starring cast of mostly females, it would be Callie Khouri, who is best known for directing Thelma and Louise. The question here, though, is her latest film, Mad Money, able to live up to high expectations.
In Mad Money, Bridget (Diane Keaton) is left to find a job to help pay off her and her husband’s monumental debt, after her husband (Ted Danson) is squeezed out of a job. She locates employment as a janitor at the Kansas City Federal Reserve, working around massive bricks of old money sent off to be shredded. Sensing untold riches if she could get her hands on the money, Bridget entices co-workers Nina (Queen Latifah) and Jackie (Katie Holmes) to help build a plan to embezzle the coin during their daily rounds. Finding their dishonest efforts successful, the trio embarks on an odyssey of financial freedom that lasts over three years, until banking agents start to notice these laborers aren’t exactly living the minimum-wage lifestyle.
Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes don’t seem like the most logical choice to play three friends in this movie, but somehow it works. That’s mainly due to Callie Khouri knowing how to direct a strong female friendship on screen. Keaton and Latifah play the same kinds of characters that they always seem to play in their movies, but Holmes is in a completely different role than we have seen her play before. Ted Danson and Stephen Root also have strong supporting roles, and you can’t really complain about the cast at all.
The story is pretty predictable; there are no surprises here. The way these women steal the money could never happen in real life, but at least it seems a little bit logical as it’s happening on the big screen. This movie is at its entertaining best as a heist film. But when it tries to be a comedy as well it fails.
The planning and stealing of the money is what makes this film better than you might expect. That and how surprisingly well the starring cast interacts with each other. Unfortunately the comedy doesn’t work as well. Mad Money is neither the best heist film ever nor is it as good as Callie Khouri’s previous films, but it’s still mostly fun throughout. And that’s more than you can say about a lot of films.
The video is given in both 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen color, which is enhanced for 16:9 TVs, and 1.33:1 fullscreen color. The video is pretty standard for a new release film. The colors are mostly vivid and there are no major problems at all.
The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound or English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround sound. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear, so no major problems here either.
Audio Commentary –
There is a full-length commentary with the director, Callie Khouri. She gives out a lot of information about the film, but it’s not that entertaining. It should only be listened to if you want to learn more about the making of the film.
“Makin’ Money: Behind the Scenes of Mad Money” Featurette –
This runs 9 minutes and it’s your standard “making of” featurette. We get interviews with various cast and crew members talking about the film and hyping it up. Nothing too special at all really.
If you are fans of the any of the leading women, you will no doubt enjoy this film and may want to buy it. For everyone else, I can only recommend a rental at best. It is a fun movie and there are a lot worse ones out there, but at the same time there are a lot better ones out there as well.
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Anchor Bay Entertainment presents Mad Money. Directed by Callie Khouri. Starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Christopher McDonald, Roger Cross, Stephen Root, and Adam Rothenberg. Written by Glenn Gers. Running time: 103 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: May 13, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
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