Mad Money

While I really love Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah, I was not particularly excited about Mad Money. It looked really mediocre, and though I was expecting to be entertained, I was not expecting it to be as fun and interesting as it ended up being. It is a really underrated and funny movie that is an all around great time from beginning to end that I am glad I had the chance of seeing.

While the movie is not exceedingly hilarious, it has it's shining moments of brilliance from the wonderful cast. All the actors and actresses pull off the characters perfectly, giving the film a lovable and bubbly atmosphere. It's extremely interesting too. I could never look away, because I was so interested in the plot; they set everything up really well and the movie was nicely paced with some fun and surprising twists and turns that keep the viewer on edge.

Like I said, easily the best thing about this movie is it's performances which ultimately make the only decent movie otherwise more than decent and highly rewatchable, and the cast pull off the material that could be seen as poor amazingly and overall make the movie worth the while. I enjoyed it highly, and like I said, I wish more people would see it and not be so critical on it. It is entertainment at it's most charming, even if it is not a masterpiece.

An Oscar winning actress (Keaton), an Oscar nominated actress (Latifah), and the current spouse of an Oscar nominated actor (Holmes) shine in this delightful comedy/crime film as three employees of a federal reserve who plot to steal a large sum of disposable cash. This is a simple movie, nothing more nothing less. It offers inconsistent and infrequent laughs, while providing a thrill to the audience. Though I am not familiar with director Callie Khouri who apparently won an Oscar, the cast of this movie was compelling, from Diane Keaton to Ted Danson, from Katie Holmes to Queen Latifah. A renowned cast saved this film from being a total disaster with a witty and fitting performance. As far as the content of the movie It is nothing more than what a regular movie goer might expect it to be. A heist gone bad, but with no blood and violence....Just plain comedy. However, this is an unusual idea for a movie, because I am sure it would not be attempted in real life, and even if it is, I am positive that the schemers will not get that far.. A nice and enjoyable film worth seeing.

Bridget (Diane Keaton) is a gracious matron with a lovely home. Yet, her world turns upside-down when her husband (Ted Danson) loses his job. Suddenly, bills are piling up and there is no solution in sight. Needing to maintain her lifestyle, Bridget takes a job as a custodial worker for the local branch of the federal mint. Now, she has the health care coverage she needs and the means to pay her creditors. But, she wants more, especially considering the menial tasks she is asked to perform and the smug attitude of the mint's bossman. Being a tough and smart cookie, Bridget hatches an elaborate plot to help herself to some of the worn-out bills that are headed for the shredder. But, in order for the scheme to work, she needs the aid of Nina (Queen Latifah), who operates one of the shredders, and Jackie (Katie Holmes), whose task it is to transport the cart of paper money to and fro. They agree, after some initial reluctance, to become Bridget's partners in crime, for Nina wants to send her two little boys to a fine school and Jackie has a need for some excitement. But, will they really be able to pull one over on the Feds? This is really a fairly funny movie, with a great plot and a nice cast. Keaton, especially, is fabulous as the conniving, high maintenance housewife and the Queen is equally wonderful as a single mother with big dreams. Danson, Christopher McDonald and the lesser players are fine, too. Only Holmes strikes a flat note, as her Jackie is rather forgettable. Since Katie has shown she is a fine actress (see Pieces of April or Abandon), one can only conclude that the director failed her miserably. Then, too, she sports an awful hair style and terrible costumes throughout the film as well. This is most odd, for Keaton and Latifah look great. Although the sets are not noteworthy, they are certainly adequate, as is the look of the film. If you have heard that this film is a bomb, don't believe it. While it may not be a masterpiece, it definitely has its funny moments and zany charm, more than enough, in fact, to make it a worthwhile watch.

Three average woman who work at the mint team up together to try and steal the cash they are supposed to be destroying. This is Mad Money, a fun and at times hilarious comedy. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes work together to make a great team as the three criminals.

Although of its nasty box office performance and harsh reviews, Mad Money delivers as a comedy that is a lot fun from start to finish. The directors and writers were not trying to make anything ground breaking with this film, they just wanted the audience to have a lot of fun and thats what they have achieved. Diane Keaton does well and looks to slowly be returning to form, Queen Latifah is always so much fun and she fails to disappoint and even the usually annoying Katie Holmes is fun to hang around with.

Overall, Mad Money is a lot of fun, mainly because of its three leads who are extremely enjoyable to hang out with.

My friend and I were looking for a movie to see this weekend and Mad Money was the only movie that looked like fun. When we finished the movie, the audience was happy and we were happy, this was a fun and cute movie. So I have to say that I am very very surprised by this harsh rating on IMDb, I mean, a 4.4?! You have got to be kidding me, this is by no means movie of the year, but for what it was, this was just a fun comedy to watch. There wasn't any major problems with this movie that deserves that kind of a rating that makes it look like the first major flop of the year. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes were absolutely adorable together and had great chemistry. They made the story an Oceans Eleven for the girls, sounds like such a chick flick, but I think this is one that most could actually enjoy.

Bridget and her husband, Dan are in major debt, really bad debt, like 282,000 dollars in debt. They are about to loose everything they own, so Bridget gets a job as a janitor for the financial bank. When she notices the ultimate torture of how they shred worn out money, she gets a clever idea with the help of two other girl employees, Nina and Jackie, to find a way to break the system and get that money to get out of their poor situations. Once they get what they need, Bridget is so satisfied with how smooth everything went, she wants more and they go for it, but they should learn not to get so greedy since someone is on their tale.

Mad Money is a chick flick, but it's one of the rare one's that I liked. I didn't think there was anything wrong with this film. I think they could have explained the situation with the boss of the bank a little better, I don't know if he was in on it or what, but it's something that could slide I think. Queen Latifah was just so funny and Diane Keaton was a perfect choice for Bridget, Katie Holmes was pretty decent for the comic relief. Please don't take the rating on IMDb seriously, I think that Mad Money was just a fun little comedy that deserves a better chance.

6/10