Life of Crime: Scambio a sorpresa

The summary of this described it as a comedy. I didn't find it funny.

"Life of Crime" from 2013 is based on an Elmore Leonard story, "The Switch," which has some of the same characters as "Jackie Brown." Sadly this is not in Jackie Brown's league. I'll give it this - it has a great soundtrack.

Jennifer Aniston stars as Mickey, married to a prize jerk, Frank (Tim Robbins), who is involved in shady real estate deals and tax evasion. Unbeknownst to her, he's channeling money to a secret bank account, and his trips include meeting up with a young girlfriend Melanie (Isla Fisher). He also plans on divorcing Mickey and marrying Melanie.

Louis (John Hawkes) and Ordell (Mos Def) have the idea of kidnapping Mickey and holding her for a million dollars ransom. They figure they know too much about his illegal activities for him to refuse.

It turns out that the only one with any brains is Melanie. When Frank gets the phone call about Mickey, Melanie takes over. She starts taking the phone calls, claiming Frank isn't around. It finally occurs to the kidnappers that Frank doesn't really want Mickey back.

There are two other men in the plot who are potentially trouble, but in different ways. There is the neo-Nazi racist with more guns than the Army (Mark Boone Junior) and a guy (Will Forte) who bonds with Mickey.

This just didn't hang together for me. It certainly isn't up to the standard of Elmore Leonard as filmed by Tarantino. I think the filmmakers were going for a Tarantino/Cohen Brothers type of movie, but they didn't pull it off.

"Life of Crime" has good ensemble acting and some funny dialogue, but its pace is off, and it has a low-budget feel to it. It also lacks the layers of films like "Fargo" or "Jackie Brown."

I've never been a fan of Jennifer Aniston's, and this didn't move her up on my list. I consider her just okay. When I think of female stars who can carry a film, she isn't one.

It's an interesting film that's trying to be a dark comedy but it's not as dark as I would have expected, which made the laughs long in-between.

I've seen this type of comedy in which the victim befriends the captives because their life was not as put together as hoped. This one takes a slower dramatic pace.

Their were some pretty top notch actors in the film like Tim Robbins, John Hawkes and even Mos Def. It's interesting that Jennifer Aniston took on such a small picture, but maybe they thought her appearance would put people in seats(which I guess is true).

Thought the story was good but the pace of the movie just puts me to sleep (Maybe I actually missed the really fun parts while snoring). Don't kill your time with this one.

Checked "Life of Crime" in Amsterdam and loved it, as did most of the audience... Unlike many of the reviewers here, who may have gone in expecting something different.

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Mos Def and Tim Robbins, "Life of Crime" is NOT a romantic comedy or straight crime story. Rather, it is an Elmore Leonard-derived caper tale set in the late 70s, with the soundtrack and mustaches to match. Staying true to the author's ethos, the dialog is smart, the jokes are hilarious in quite subtle ways, and the storyline gently bends until the protagonists end up in an entirely different place than they were planning to.

Actors usually love doing Leonard scripts - he prefers to let mouths do the talking, not fists - and the cast pretty much nails it here. I loved Mos Def, Isla Fisher and Robbins in particular, but it is Aniston who steals the show. All those years post-Rachel, her comedic timing is still impeccable, and she still has the capacity to get you to care for her, even when cast as a hopeless housewife.

The verdict: I thought "Life of Crime" was just as enjoyable as other recent Elmore Leonard adaptations (that had way bigger budgets and box office mojo): Tarantino's "Jackie Brown" and Soderbergh's "Out of Sight", and would recommend "Life of Crime" especially to people who loved the latter.

Life of Crime is an aptly titled crime dramedy based on The Switch, a novel by the late Elmore Leonard whose comically dark prose has inspired other noir films like Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight. It's a slow burning pot boiler but one that simmers with sure-fisted wit, eclectic style and filled with the type of tension that stretches but never snaps.

Written for the screen and directed by Daniel Schechter, this black comedy begins with two petty criminals plotting to kidnap Mickey Dawson (Jennifer Aniston), the trophy wife of Frank Dawson (Tim Robbins) a corrupt businessman who has amassed a fortune by evading tax authorities. Having done their homework on Frank and how much money is stashed away in a tax-free Bahamas bank, Louis (John Hawkes) and Ordell (Mos Def) are the aforementioned crooks who think they have hatched the perfect plan – hold the wife ransom in exchange for the husband's ill-gotten wealth. But unknown to these misdemeanors, Frank has no intention of getting his wife back. Worst of all, Frank's got a hot little mistress (Isla Fisher as Melanie) who has a plan of her own but one that could elevate her status from a gold digger to the new Mrs. Dawson.

Set in the late 1970s Detroit, Life of Crime is potentially familiar in swagger to last year's multi-Oscar nominated American Hustle. Even so, I suspect Schechter has intended for a deeper narration – try homage to the Coen Brothers' acclaimed masterpiece, Fargo. But where those films excelled in authentic storytelling prowess, Life of Crime is a low budget film that seems to be content with a medley of delicious dialogue from improvised characters. From Melanie and Frank to fumbling crooks with terrific lines, spunky characterization works like the unwrapping of a multilayered gift where you get to see what's on the inside at the very end. Mickey is no exception either, going from a beaten-down and delusional housewife to a survivalist with vivacious insight. This is also where Aniston strides further than any of her previous roles and is definitely one of her best performances to date. Also thrown in for kicks are two of Leonard's oddball characters – a neo-Nazi gun nut played by Mark Boone Junior and Will Forte as a weirdo who has the hots for Mickey – both ambiguous characters whose inclusion adds humour but also detracts from the main plot.

For a small scale crime thriller and Schechter's third foray as a director, Life of Crime may not be a very good screen adaptation but where it struggles in its dwindling screenplay, it makes up with an ensemble cast that turns out to be the film's saving grace. Perhaps Tarantino would have done a better job, especially with a montage ending that seems to suggest that the story has only just begun. Then again, that film would have been and entirely different cat and mouse game.

"We need to find a way o put him against the wall." Frank Dawson (Robbins) is a businessman with many enemies. When a group of men are looking for revenge on him they decide to take what is most important to him, his wife Mickey (Aniston). They kidnap her and demand a ransom from him. The only downside is that he was going to divorce her and is with his mistress when they call so he's not all that concerned. This puts strain on the kidnappers when plans have to change. This is another movie based off an Elmore Leonard book. If you have seen the other movies from his books (Jackie Brown, 3:10 To Yuma, Get Shorty and most recently Justified) you will know what to expect. The feel of all of them are pretty much alike. This one does have more of a Get Shorty feel to it in the way that it is a very dark comedy and you aren't sure who to root for. The acting is very good and the movie keeps you interested and entertained but I never really got all that into it. I did like all the twists and the events of this but there was just something missing to make me really like it. I also wasn't a big fan of Get Shorty so if you liked that movie you will probably enjoy this much more then I did. Overall, a movie that I thought was OK and worth watching but nothing that really made me think wow, this is good. I give it a B-.