A Man, a Woman and a Bank

Donald Sutherland and Paul Marzursky are planning a bank robbery when Sutherland begins an affair with photographer Brooke Adams. In a stretching of their usual screen personas, Marzursky is neurotic and Miss Adams is quirky. DP Jack Cardiff shoots Vancouver which, for a change, is supposed to be Vancouver.

It's an okay movie, which thirty years earlier would have been an ordinary programmer, or even a B movie. Unexceptional, some good moments, but adds nothing substantial to anyone's career, although I'm sure everyone worked their hardest.

Bank in Vancouver, still under construction, is the target for robbery by a slick computer programmer/con-man (Donald Sutherland, with fluffy strawberry-blond hair) and his computer genius pal (Paul Mazursky), who's a hypochondriac; the "woman" of the title is professional photographer Brooke Adams, whom Sutherland falls for after she mistakes him for an executive and snaps his picture (the two are reunited here from 1978's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). Somewhat dippy, but not-bad crime-comedy from screenwriters Raynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans and Stuart Margolin, from a treatment by Gideon and Evans, was the first and only film to come out of teen actress Kristy McNichol's niche production company, McNichol (although she doesn't appear). There's a gross, scary neighbor of Brooke's I could have done without (he's into whipped cream sex!), but the star-trio are a very smooth combination. Director Noel Black and cinematographer Jack Cardiff show a breezy touch with scenes that include movement (particularly in the graceful opening), and the logistics of the caper are well-considered. **1/2 from ****

Businessman Reese Halperin (Donald Sutherland) and computer programmer Norman Barrie (Paul Mazursky) are two unlikely criminals. They think that their plan to rob a bank is perfect. Halperin is carrying the floor plans when photographer Stacey Bishop (Brooke Adams) takes his picture. He needs the pictures back.

This is a smaller caper film with some great actors. Sutherland and Adams are back together. They have nice chemistry. Adams is adorable. Sutherland is a great leading man. They have a great initial meet-cute although his later anger is a bit too much. A brisk rejection would work better cinematically. I would like the caper to be more interesting. I appreciate the model of the caper at the beginning, but it's not the most illuminating. Marker and paper would be superior. In the end, the caper does not have enough tension. I love these actors. This is one of their lesser movies.

A breezy rom-com that includes a bank heist but without the usual tension and action.

---------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Deliberately botched (for the "it's so bad it's good" crowd) 2 I don't want to see it 3 I didn't finish and or FF'd through it 4 Bad 5 I don't get it 6 Good 7 Great but with a major flaw 8 Great 9 Noir with moral 10 Inspiring with moral.

A lighthearted heist movie with a lot going for it. First of all, the chemistry between Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams is terrific. He plays criminal master mind Reese who's planning to break into a new bank, which is just being built in downtown Vancouver. While stealing the plans to the building he's accidentally photographed by Stacey (Adams). He looks her up, trying to get the negatives, and he falls in love. This puts a little bit of strain on his relationship with his partner in crime Norman, beautifully played by Paul Mazursky.

Almost everything in this film has a relaxed feel to it. Conflicts are mostly resolved rather quickly and the story just sort of breezes along, with beautiful Vancouver locations. There are a couple of suspenseful scenes, when Reese and Norman are nearly caught, but mostly this is not about the heist itself, but more about the people who perpetrate it. As a comedy it offers no outlandish gags, but there are a lot of wonderful scenes, most of them involving Norman being a nervous wreck or Adams being way too cute.

I thought it was a very pleasant surprise.