A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history.A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history.A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Michael Fraguada
- Desk Clerk
- (as Michael Angel Fraguada)
Featured reviews
Despite a set of tremendous comedic actors, 'Masterminds' isn't half as funny as it ought to have been. It has some moments, but they aren't enough to pass this delayed release as a winner.
'Masterminds' Synopsis: A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery.
'Masterminds' tries to adapt a crazy true-story into a much crazier film. Sadly, it only engages in bits. I enjoyed the sub-plot of the hero & his crazy girlfriend (Zach Galifianakis & Kate McKinnon), but the main plot doesn't bring out the best laughs. Also, the jokes are too crass & get silly after a point. Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer & Emily Spivey's Screenplay is alright. Its only sporadically funny. Jared Hess's Direction is just passable.
Performance-Wise: 'Masterminds' rests on the madness of its cast. Zach Galifianakis can be dumb & funny more than anyone else can right now & hence, he's spot-on. Kristen Wiig is irresistible, even though she doesn't much scope. Owen Wilson is okay. Jason Sudeikis is absurd, yet entertaining. Leslie Jones hams. Kate McKinnon is fantastic as Zach's crazy girlfriend & she, completely steals the show.
On the whole, 'Masterminds' isn't funny enough. Nonetheless, watch it if you must!
'Masterminds' Synopsis: A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery.
'Masterminds' tries to adapt a crazy true-story into a much crazier film. Sadly, it only engages in bits. I enjoyed the sub-plot of the hero & his crazy girlfriend (Zach Galifianakis & Kate McKinnon), but the main plot doesn't bring out the best laughs. Also, the jokes are too crass & get silly after a point. Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer & Emily Spivey's Screenplay is alright. Its only sporadically funny. Jared Hess's Direction is just passable.
Performance-Wise: 'Masterminds' rests on the madness of its cast. Zach Galifianakis can be dumb & funny more than anyone else can right now & hence, he's spot-on. Kristen Wiig is irresistible, even though she doesn't much scope. Owen Wilson is okay. Jason Sudeikis is absurd, yet entertaining. Leslie Jones hams. Kate McKinnon is fantastic as Zach's crazy girlfriend & she, completely steals the show.
On the whole, 'Masterminds' isn't funny enough. Nonetheless, watch it if you must!
Am I surprised Masterminds only gets a 5.8 rating on here? Not really as comedies are the most difficult movies to rate. We just don't all have the same sense of humor so what is funny to someone looks dumb to another. I'm on the side of the people that had great fun watching this biography/comedy. Based on a true story, although I have serious doubts about some events that took place in this movie. It doesn't really matter though, more than 17 million of dollars have been stolen, by amateurs, and those are enough ingredients to create a funny movie. Certainly with a cast like this one, all comedians that I really appreciate watching. Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Kate McKinnon and Jason Sudeikis are all actors that know how to make people laugh and it shows. Great cast and good acting from all of them. The story is quite unbelievable what makes it entertaining. I'm sure I won't be the only one that will definitely watch this movie again in the future, when I need some good laughs to cheer me up.
Masterminds, a comical masterpiece?
With an all-star cast, and a movie script so bizarre it must be true—yes, this is a true story—I expected to be thoroughly entertained, and I was not let down. "Masterminds" is a breath of fresh air that showcases the awkwardly funny talents of Zach Galifinakis, Kirstin Wiig, and Owen Wilson.
The movie centers itself around one of the largest heists in history, orchestrated by a Man named Steve (Wilson) and carried out by a Man named David Ghantt (Galifianakis) who did it all for his crush on a co-worker, Kelly (Wiig). These are a bunch of blue-collar, uneducated group of people, looking for something better. Kelly soon realizes Ghantt has a crush on her and uses this knowledge to get close to Ghantt, in order to convince him to steal the money. At one point, they go to the gun range to discuss what they would do with a million dollars, and Ghantt has an accidental discharge of his weapon while trying to holster it in the rear of his waistband. Kelly then exclaims: "Oh my gosh! David, let me see! That bullet just went straight between your cheeks!" It was an unlikely heist, perpetrated by an even more unlikely group of individuals.
All in all, the movie was light hearted, didn't take itself too seriously and made me laugh all the way through. Overall I give this movie an A. It is entertaining as it is unbelievable. The movie is now on video and would make an excellent add for your collection.
With an all-star cast, and a movie script so bizarre it must be true—yes, this is a true story—I expected to be thoroughly entertained, and I was not let down. "Masterminds" is a breath of fresh air that showcases the awkwardly funny talents of Zach Galifinakis, Kirstin Wiig, and Owen Wilson.
The movie centers itself around one of the largest heists in history, orchestrated by a Man named Steve (Wilson) and carried out by a Man named David Ghantt (Galifianakis) who did it all for his crush on a co-worker, Kelly (Wiig). These are a bunch of blue-collar, uneducated group of people, looking for something better. Kelly soon realizes Ghantt has a crush on her and uses this knowledge to get close to Ghantt, in order to convince him to steal the money. At one point, they go to the gun range to discuss what they would do with a million dollars, and Ghantt has an accidental discharge of his weapon while trying to holster it in the rear of his waistband. Kelly then exclaims: "Oh my gosh! David, let me see! That bullet just went straight between your cheeks!" It was an unlikely heist, perpetrated by an even more unlikely group of individuals.
All in all, the movie was light hearted, didn't take itself too seriously and made me laugh all the way through. Overall I give this movie an A. It is entertaining as it is unbelievable. The movie is now on video and would make an excellent add for your collection.
Jared Hess (the director) is someone who doesn't believe in the usual comedic mould.
His vision of comedy is obscure in that he doesn't want us to laugh at the obvious slapstick.
He wants us to cringe a little at the truth behind his laughs.
While it's true that in the end comedies need to make us guffaw, chuckle, snicker, titter and chortle; the real art of comedy is to make us feel the pain of our protagonist.
I think in this regard, Jared Hess has achieved something rare.
A comedic protagonist who is very real and flawed and sad.
His sadness makes us laugh because of how bleak his existence is.
We feel for him and wish him all the best. I feel that people who don't get this movie are afraid of humanness in others.
That's why people are idiots. Because they see comedies as an excuse to simply laugh mindlessly at absurd plot lines. Comedies are also commentaries on the human condition. In spite of being marketed as slapstick, Masterminds is a film about a fragile soul in a dangerous world. Since making such a film a drama would turn away crowds in droves, the film maker re-framed it as something of a tragic comedy.
My heart felt for this hero who is at once self-deluded and incredibly sensitive.
If you have ever understood unconditional love, you might find something to love in Masterminds too.
His vision of comedy is obscure in that he doesn't want us to laugh at the obvious slapstick.
He wants us to cringe a little at the truth behind his laughs.
While it's true that in the end comedies need to make us guffaw, chuckle, snicker, titter and chortle; the real art of comedy is to make us feel the pain of our protagonist.
I think in this regard, Jared Hess has achieved something rare.
A comedic protagonist who is very real and flawed and sad.
His sadness makes us laugh because of how bleak his existence is.
We feel for him and wish him all the best. I feel that people who don't get this movie are afraid of humanness in others.
That's why people are idiots. Because they see comedies as an excuse to simply laugh mindlessly at absurd plot lines. Comedies are also commentaries on the human condition. In spite of being marketed as slapstick, Masterminds is a film about a fragile soul in a dangerous world. Since making such a film a drama would turn away crowds in droves, the film maker re-framed it as something of a tragic comedy.
My heart felt for this hero who is at once self-deluded and incredibly sensitive.
If you have ever understood unconditional love, you might find something to love in Masterminds too.
I watched this not knowing what to expect and found myself laughing a lot and enjoying it thoroughly. I was surprised to see that it was not better received (not too surprised though, as it seems only the most popular movies get any positive reviews and there tends to be a bandwagon effect).
Based on true story of one of the largest cash heists in history, it follows the crazy story of its perpetrators and their attempts to avoid being caught.
Zach Galifianakis and other cast members are hilarious. The makers of the film obviously took pains to add little details to every scene that really add to the comedy. In the beginning, for example, there is a scene of awkwardfamilyphotos.com style engagement photos that is so great. Plot twists as the film progressed to its conclusion kept the story interesting. There were some parts that were hard to buy, but it was a comedy after all. It's on Netflix currently.
Based on true story of one of the largest cash heists in history, it follows the crazy story of its perpetrators and their attempts to avoid being caught.
Zach Galifianakis and other cast members are hilarious. The makers of the film obviously took pains to add little details to every scene that really add to the comedy. In the beginning, for example, there is a scene of awkwardfamilyphotos.com style engagement photos that is so great. Plot twists as the film progressed to its conclusion kept the story interesting. There were some parts that were hard to buy, but it was a comedy after all. It's on Netflix currently.
Did you know
- TriviaBased on the 1997 Loomis Fargo bank robbery in Charlotte, North Carolina. $17.3 million in cash was stolen.
- GoofsDavid did not make it back to the United States on his own as shown in the film. He was actually arrested in Mexico after the FBI traced his phone calls.
- Quotes
David Ghantt: You farted right into my butt hole. It's like a fart transplant.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood Express: Episode #14.33 (2016)
- How long is Masterminds?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Mentes maestras
- Filming locations
- Asheville, North Carolina, USA(Charlotte, NC)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,368,022
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,541,205
- Oct 2, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $29,674,699
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
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