Ca$h

A very good, really fun and clever heist movie. And for those who keep comparing it to Ocean's-don't-know-which-number: it's far less glossy than its Hollywood counterparts but glossy enough for its genre. Jean Reno and Jean Dujardin have much more substance in their acting and they possess a European class that Hollywood actors like Clooney or Pitt (excellent as they might be) are missing. Accordingly Goino's and Taglioni's elegance and expressiveness have Zeta-Jones and Roberts just envying. Bref, a very enjoyable movie that's not pretending to be anything else than that.

"Cash" is a sad case of Paris playing Hollywood, and failing. The plot is a total "Ocean's Twelve" knock-off, with bits of "Heist" and "After the Sunset" tossed in. Also, Catherine Zeta-Jones was about a zillion times hotter as Europol power bitch Isabel Lahiri (than Valeria Golino in the near-identical part of a struggling international forgery investigator). Everyone else is even more forgettable, with the possible exception of Ciarán Hinds in the part of Julia's hard-headed boss. Jean Reno, who appears in the small part of the big counterfeit kahuna, must have owed someone a favor. Don't waste your time with this.

The comparison is fateful - for better (as "unavoidable") and worse (as "suicidal"). The main fault lays in the characters (none has the perverse charm of Gondorff and Hooker) and in those parts of the script that depict the heists (not by far as ingenious as in the best movies of the genre, but neither as hair-pulled and flat as in the "Ocean..." series). Fortunately, the direction is fast-paced and stylish, so this saves the day more or less. And... okay, I won't spoil the ending, but one thing should be stated: it's totally unlikely. You do NOT pull such an elaborate farce, ONLY to send (...) screaming in a motor boat without fuel in the middle of the Mediterranean.

Further, the perpetual use of the trick "I'm not who you thought me to be" is hugely abused of, reminding rather of "The Pirates of the Caribbean". What really stands is the sparkling direction and the old-fashioned style, nostalgically recalling the end of the Seventies. For such a merry flick, it's positively refreshing.

I just saw this at the French Film Festival and thought it was excellent - no way I could foresee the ending. OK there's a lot of twists and turns but in the end it was all well done and well thought out. I would like to see it again now that I know the ending to figure it all out. Personally I liked it and anyone who says that Julia Molina is not hot must be blind (ref: a previous commentator), especially in that fantastic evening gown she wears. I like the Jean Dujardin's easy style and charm and all the cast were great. I wasn't used to actually seeing Jean Reno speaking in his native tongue! All in all, a great watch if you don't like your films predictable.

Apart from the numerous stylistic resemblances between "Ca$h" and the Ocean's 11/12/13 movies (funky music, editing pace, use of colorful light, etc.), you have to realize that this is a very different movie. Of course, if all you have seen in this genre is Ocean's 11, and you're easily distracted by style, then of course you draw parallels, and you might prefer the Ocean's movies.

This is, please let me emphasize this, this is NOT a heist movie! So don't expect a heist movie! This movie is more in the line of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", in that it's filled with con artists, scams, twists, and a sometimes very comedic approach to all that.

Sure it could be better here and there, but it's a really nice feel good crime/(little bit of)heist/con movie, charming and entertaining, and I left the movie theater with a big grin.

Not perfect, but enjoyable.