The 1980 comedy "How to Beat the High Cost of Living," star Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin and Jessica Lange as friends who plan to steal cash from a giant ball of money at the mall.
"Mad Money" plays like a scam, even if it has a more eclectic trio of thieves: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes, who plan to steal cash from the Federal Reserve Bank of where they work. While the previous film was not exactly a classic film, it had its moments of appealingly silly energy; go in the same sort of screwball vibe, "Mad Money" strains desperately for laughs.
And empowering women for a film, it is fairly low. In truth, it is hard to believe it comes from director Callie Khouri, who won an Oscar for writing the final film of the empowerment of women, "Thelma & Louise." (This time, the script comes from Glenn Gers, based on a British TV movie.)
Keaton's Cardigan Bridget is a high-middle-class wife and mother whose husband (Ted Danson) is reduced by his work, leaving some 286000 dollars of debt. Having been out of the labor force for decades and totally devoid of useful skills, she is forced to take a job as a janitor at the Fed.
Latifah co-stars as Nina, a single mother of two boys whose function Kansas City to the eastern shore of shredded bills that are deemed too worn. And Jackie Holmes, who carts cash from one place to another, is young, ditzy wild and lives in a trailer with her husband doofus (Adam Rothenberg).
It is almost impossible to imagine how sheltered, pampered Bridget could happen to such a ruse, the complex rope and two complete strangers in it is not just an intrigue nagging question. It is a fundamental error. (His idea: Turn the locks of silver carts, cash stuff that's about to be destroyed in a basket and then hide in their pants and walk right to the front door. It is not theft, Bridget reasons, "It's like recycling.")
Except for Latifah's character, who has just scraping by and earnestly seeking a better life for her sons, it is difficult to gather a lot of sympathy for any of them. Secondly, the script of its forces in half a romance with one of the bank's security guards (Roger Cross), who discovers the crime but agrees to protect a piece of the action, and to spend time with Nina .
In theory, Bridget and her husband could have sold their mansion and some of their goods expensive to repay their debt, their children have grown up and left on their own careers. It could have been an alternative to brazenly steal the bank several times. (But, you see, there would be no film, and not you-go-girl moments to launch wads of money in the air.)
Jackie's even less fleshed out his character trait is at work bopping around with her headphones on, dancing as she listens to music. Because we are not emotionally invested in these people and their problems, "Mad Money" can not even make some sort of statement to bite on the economic stress of our time.
While Keaton has long been crazy and dizzying, and it Latifah and have an interesting contrast of personalities, Holmes presence feels like an afterthought.
And there is not even any suspense wondering if their greed will also have difficulties, we know from the outset that women get caught because the entire story is told in flashbacks, with all the actors involved frantically trying to destroy the evidence.
"Ocean's Three", it is not.
"Mad Money," a Overture Films release, is rated PG-13 for sexual material and language, and brief drug references. Running time: 104 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
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