Counterfeiting in Suburbia

This is a movie about criminality--the criminality of the writer, the director and the cast. What a turkey! The only urgency the viewer feels is the urgent need to flee (or to take an extended bathroom break) to avoid the tedium. If I didn't know better I'd suspect that this Canadian-made effort was intended purely to cash in on Can-con requirements and to grab as much government cash as possible. Oh wait...

I would not say this is a perfectly written script, but, frankly, the plot points are solid and the acting is pretty good. What strikes me the most about the story is the base realism the high schoolers display in thinking (to paraphrase), "We're too smart to get caught. No worries." As a teacher, I see that as a very realistic viewpoint for many young people today in our "freebie society."

Bravo!

Jim Hoffmann "The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child (3rd Edition) Et al.

I try to judge these TV movies, especially the ones shown on Hallmark and Lifetime, on a curve. After all, they aren't even in the same universe as the movies from Scorsese, Spielberg, Tarantino, Kubrick, and a dozen other current and past filmmakers I could name. They are formulaic, aimed to meet specific audience expectations, and almost always follow a similar pattern.

Even grading on a scale, this one is especially bad. It started out with an interesting premise, but went downhill faster than a bobsled. No one noticed the bills all had the same serial numbers? Inept Secret Service agents that can't catch a high school girl - twice? No backup? I don't like reviews with spoilers, so I'll stop there with mentioning the things that were just wrong with the plot. Most especially, the last half hour or so, and the totally unrealistic ending, really had me shaking my head. I can suspend disbelief happily with some movies, but this one stretched by ability to do so beyond the breaking point.

I've long ago learned that when you see a move that claims to be "based on true events" or "inspired by true events", what you are really going to see is complete fiction. That had to be the case here. I would guess that somewhere some high school students tried to make counterfeit money. That would be where any similarity between reality and this movie ended.

I am curious about one thing, though. Why does Lifetime keep changing the titles of movies? This was "Counterfeiting in Suburbia" when it was originally released. Lifetime recently replayed it under the title "Deadly Transaction". That title change thing has happened with quite a few of the movies they have shown recently, with movies that are a couple of years or more older. Why do they do that?

In a moment of weakness I watched this fluffy, unbelievable, wreck of a movie. The basic premise could work: teenage counterfeiters use their criminal skills to buy a bunch of expensive swag with phoney money. But the execution is often unintentionally laughable. The last time I watched a movie where I thought "that would never happen!" so often was Sharknado. Tweens may enjoy this, if only because every adult in the film is clueless, inept, or both.

Take Mad Money (2008), which isn't exactly a masterpiece, dilute its plot with gallons of water and you'll be left with something resembling this film.

Stereotypical, one-dimensional characters, a strange plot that's disjointed at best (and bizarre at worst) with a cookie cutter story of good guys dealing with financial woes and venturing into a life of crime to pay back the loan sharks (and banks).

And, of course, throw in a character who's there merely for the adrenaline rush. Just to spice things up a tad bit.

The reason I'm giving it 3/10 is because, at the very least, it wasn't exactly unwatchable. Probably because counterfeiting is something I've fantasized about as a cash strapped kid.