Release Date: January 18, 2008 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Genre: Comedy Director: Callie Khouri Writers: Glenn Gers Cast: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Roger Cross, Adam Rothenberg, Finesse Mitchell Synopsis: Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) is shocked to learn that she is on the verge of losing her home and comfortable upper middle class lifestyle when her husband Don (Ted Danson) is downsized from his job. Armed only with a decades old English degree and years as a dedicated mother and corporate wife, Bridget is forced into the unfamiliar labor market with no job skills. Finally, she accepts the only position she can find— janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank.
The one-time suburban mom soon discovers she has more in common with her new co-workers than she thought. Bridget forges an unexpected bond with Nina (Queen Latifah), a hard-working single mom with two kids to raise, and Jackie (Katie Holmes), an exuberant free spirit with nothing to lose. Caught up in a system that underestimates their talents and keeps their dreams just out of reach, Bridget, Nina and Jackie set out to even the score. The Review: Your Critic For The Evening: Erich Wood
MAD MONEY'S MIXED MORAL ME$$AGE$
Ahh...movies-I love them!
To me, they are the ultimate art form, combining the best (one would hope) of words, art, music, and spectacle into an experience like nothing else. The best part of the movie going experience for me is when all of the elements combine to not only tell an excellent story, but when I moved to experience some emotion or emotions that I did not walk into the theatre with.
We've all felt this power of the movies; we've laughed, cried, gotten turned on, shrieked in terror, gasped in awe, and, in the case of CLOVERFIELD, nearly barfed with motion sickness)! Yup, the filmic art form can bring forth most of our major emotions, and I’ve enjoyed experiencing every single one of them with the exception of one major emotion (also one of the SE7EN deadly sins, too): GREED. I cannot stand being asked to feel greedy. It makes be feel dirtier than dirt, scummier than scum, to feel good about the awful desperate wanting hunger that is greed. MAD MONEY isn’t about the greed as it is, even worse, about getting away with doing something wrong to fulfill the needy greedies. (And let’s never forget…Greedo shot first!)
Okay, on to the film review MAD MONEY stars Diane KeatonPSP, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes Sam Malone and Adam Rothenberg The plot is simple: DON (Ted Danson sans the damned brown shoe polish he’s been putting in his hair for the past decade) and BRIDGET CARDIGAN (Ms.Keaton) are beyond broke. He's a broker (or was until he was downsized) and the two upper class find they're about 286,000.00 in debt. Oh the humanity.
She accepts a job at the local Arkansas (I think) branch of THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK. FYI, it took the movie about 50 minutes or so before they let me know that –not good. This particular branch is all about the destruction, not the creation of money. In case you ever wondered where all the crappy, cruddy, half destroyed bills of American currency go, here's one of the answers.
Anyhoo, BRIDGET, in one of the best examples of being "under-employed" that I've ever seen outside of my own W-2 statement, comes up with a nearly foolproof method for removing the unwanted bills from the joint (which is called stealing, kiddies) and for paying off her huge debt. In order to pull off this heist, she needs the help of her co-workers: smart, single mom of two NINA BREWSTER (Dana Owens -err Queen Latifah) and kooky, not-so-smart pseudo-rocker chick JACKIE (Katie Holmes, err Kate Cruise) TRUMAN (and imagine how thrilled I was when I found out she's ALSO described as kooky on her official site profile).
The three manage to remove lots and lots of cruddy cash under the watchful eyes of BANK ADMINISTRATOR GLOVER (the usually very funny STEPHEN ROOT-but sorry, not today) and security guards SHAUN (the terrible Finesse ("SNL") Mitchell) and BARRY (the really good Roger Cross).
Speaking of Roger Cross, I'd never heard of him before, but he has quite an impressive IMDB resume, including a turn as a S.H.I.E.L.D Agent #1 in David Hasslehoff's Nick Fury TV movie (!!), but he's really good, giving a solid Chiwetel Ejiofor-type performance.
Well, long plot short they get away with it and they get away with it and there's a happy ending. Whee.
The film has a number of flaws. I’m pretty sure that I’m right here in saying the scenes where the various characters are shown giving the flashback story narration don’t make any sense later when they’re shown in the interrogation rooms. I think here they actually kept their mouths shut in the I-want-to-see-a-lawyer way, but there’s no way you’re going to get me to watch the movie again to make sure!
Another issue is the scene where NINA advises INGRID and JACKIE not to spend their ill-gotten gains on anything conspicuous-right after she enrolled her two sons into a private school and indicated to the school’s principal she’d be willing to fund a new library (this scene was especially memorable because it contained the one time I laughed in the film)!
As a director, THELMA & LOUISE Oscar ™ writer Callie Khouri leaves much to be desired. Not only did I miss the few establishing shot (s) that would actually would have told early on where MAD MONEY was supposed to take place, and she doesn’t quite know where to put the camera in a two shot, but there a couple of times that Ted Danson’s character is shown sitting in front of a window and the incoming bright light blasts out his white hair.
Better luck next time.
Okay, for those of you that remember my opening rant, this is where it comes into play in my review of MAD MONEY.
MAD MONEY’s premise and happy ending make it clear that since INGRID and her pals got away with a victimless crime and there was no actual way of proving it, not only did they get off scot free (not to be confused with DC Comic's Mister Miracle), but since the character are shown to really, really need the money, then it's okay that they took the money.
I couldn't believe it. Not only was I being asked to believe that their crime was unpunishable, but the audience was clapping and laughing as our lovely ladies got away with committing an f____ing huge federal crime. If the producers really stand behind the message of the film (which, lets face it, if MAD MONEY was nominated for any major awards they would- pardon me for a moment while I pick myself of f the floor here), then I’m inviting them to send me their paycheck (s) for MAD MONEY. Thanks in advance. They can contact me via FilmGeekz.com and we’ll hash the details out.
On a final note, back in the 1990s I had a job in Hollywood, CA that required me to run credit cards. I remember one time I had to run a credit card for one Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah). If I was smart, maybe I should’ve kept the card info and withdrawn a little money here and there. After all, I need the money and besides, it’s not like she’d ever notice, right? Wrong, because it would be stealing. How come I know that and the creators of MAD MONEY don’t?
Wait for the video release and then don’t bother renting it. You’ll be happy you did.
PS. I never kept Queen Latifah’s credit info because I was a professional-something. Rating:
