Customer Reviews

Mad Money [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) suddenly finds herself out of money and upper class home when her husband Don (Ted Danson) gets downsized from his company. Unable to find a job, and out of desperation, she takes a job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank, and as soon as she lays eyes on the vast fortune sitting around locked in plain sight, she starts hatching a plan to liberate some of it.

Her ingenious and simple plan requires the help of two other people, and soon she persuades the reluctant Nina Brewster (Queen Latifah) and the ditsy Jackie Truman (Katie Holmes) to aid and abet her scheme to steal worn out bills before they get shredded.

All together now:

And the money kept rolling in from every side
Jackie's pretty hands reached out and they reached wide
Now you may feel it should have
been a conscience-pricking scheme
But that's not the point my friends
When the money keeps rolling in, you don't ask how
Think of all the people guaranteed a good time now
Bridget called the needy to her, opened up the doors
Never been a fund like the Federal Reserve Bank plan*

After a while, there are thoughts of calling it a day, but Bridget pushes hard for milking it for all it's worth.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)
1. The lack of money is the root of all scheming
2. People who live with poor spouses shouldn't clean banks
3. A dollar saved is a dollar earned
4. Don't throw the money out with the trash paper
5. Money changes everything
6. Two things are certain - theft and taxes


This is a light hearted comedy about three women from different backgrounds who come together to pull off an unlikely heist from a secure facility. Undeniably, there are more plot holes than plot, but who's counting? There are some funny moments, and some interesting twists, and even though the movie mostly misses the mark, Keaton and Latifah are as good as always. Wait for it on cable.




*Based on "And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out)" - Andrew Lloyd Webber - "Evita"



Amanda Richards, March 21, 2008

Mad Money a brainy scheme of 3 women Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes try to smuggle millions of worn out currency that is headed for the Federal Reserve shredder. This movie is full of laughs and excitement and most of all lots of Mad Money. This in my opinion is a must see. I enjoyed these 3 actresses who are my favorite so much I now own it.

This is a rare movie, where some of our favorite actors are involved in less than desired activities, and yet we found ourselves rooting for them. The movie is about three women in difficult situations, needing money and a change of perspective for their families.

Ted Danson delivers a great performance as the unemployed husband of Bridget, who not only lost his highly paid executive job, but is now depressed and confronting reality for at his age, he no longer feels confident enough to start again.

The three women work at what looks like Fort Knox, where money is disposed off by banks because it becomes too old to circulate. They simply shred millions every day. To support her family, Bridget, played by Diane Keaton, comes up with a rather ingenious plot that is both fun and believable.

In order to be successful in her plan to steal lots of money, Bridget enlists others. Nina, played by Queen Latifah, and Jackie, superbly played by Katie Holmes, become the other two in this trio of thieves. We found ourselves laughing, enjoying the suspense, and hoping that they get away with their creative money recycling business.

This movie just didn't keep me. The star power alone carried the weak, difficult to believe plot. IMO the purpose of a "heist movie" (like ocean's 11) is to make you think that you really could do something like that and get away with it, this movie didn't pull that off. I never got used to seeing Diane Lane in a janitor's jumpsuit. Katie Holmes was plays a looney tune, probably the only type of character that she would be good at nowadays. There is no moral to the story. No "come to Jesus" moment at the end. Instead you're left with the feeling that if you can steal from the government, everything's gravy. Not terrible, but worth a little less than face value.

I thought this was supposed to be a comedy. While the movie was good, I wasn't laughing much. It's full of excitment but no so much on the laughter.
MAIN STORYLINE : When her husband loses his job, Bridget (Keaton) need cash fast. When she lands a job as a jaintor at the Federal Reserve Bank, her plan : steal money going out of circulation. She enlists the help of 2 people : 1. The one who shreds the money (Latifah) and the woman who pushes the carts of money around (Holmes).

PROS
1. Overall, it's a great movie
2. great Casting

CONS
1. Not so comedic
2. Unoriginal storyline - The movie is a remake of the British movie "Hot Money"
3. No Subtitles.

I just felt the movie could have been funnier and the dvd to have subtitles. I like to read what I am hearing. And while the movies gets a thumbs up, because I didn't laugh so much at this "comedy", it's not worth the whole 5 stars

Mad Money accomplishes its goal of treating a serious topic in such a light hearted way that you actually enjoy watching the film. The acting is extremely convincing and the plot moves along at a good pace. It held my attention every step of the way!

The action starts when Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) finds out that she and her husband Don (Ted Danson) have finally gone broke after a year of his being unemployed after a "downsizing." Bridget tries in desperation to find work until her former maid gives her a tip that the Federal Reserve Bank is hiring--janitors. Bridget goes from being a wealthy suburbanite to a bank janitor very quickly as she attempts to save the house she has with her husband Don.

When she works at the bank, Bridget can't believe how much money she sees--and none of it, of course, is hers. They actually shred it! She soon concocts a plan to "recycle" some of the money and therefore steal it for herself and her husband. Yet Bridget knows she will need help; she can't do that big a job by herself. She eventually enlists "space cadet" Jackie Truman (Katie Holmes) who lives in a trailer with her husband Bob (Adam Rothenberg). She also gets help from an initially very reluctant Nina Brewster (Queen Latifah) who does the actual shredding of the money.

It isn't long before the women successfully make their first robbery--they pull it off! They're just beginning to celebrate when Bridget's husband Don walks into the room and there's some pretty big explaining to do. Bridget, no matter what, eventually convinces everyone with her aggressive attacks that more heists are necessary for them to have "what they want."

Of course, from here the plot can go anywhere. What happens when a security guard finds out what these three women are doing--will he go along with them and join them or will he turn them in? What about Bridget's plans to spend the money--that doesn't sit well with Nina who wants it very inconspicuous that there's been any changes in their financial situations--will Bridget or Nina win the tug of war? What about the management of the bank and the people they call in as advisers about theft--will THEY catch on and find that these women are stealing? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch the movie and find out! The ending has a few plot twists that may surprise you!

The DVD comes with a commentary; and you can watch it in either widescreen or full screen mode. There's also a cute but very brief "making of" featurette.

Overall, while Mad Money is not exactly going to win best comedy of the year, it isn't bad either. I recommend this movie for a few light hearted laughs and the acting is splendid. People who like Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes and Ted Danson will enjoy this movie, too.

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes are the main characters in Callie Khouri's Mad Money. Callie Khouri is the screenwriter of one of the better movies I've seen (Thelma & Louise) so I hoped her transition into directing would be as much of a success.

Alas.

Mad Money is a comedy about three common women who decide to do something uncommon: rob a bank. Diane Keaton's character learns that she's about to lose it all when her husband (Ted Danson) is fired. As an erstwhile stay-at-home mom and wife, she is forced to get a job, but with no skills to speak of, she finally gets the only job she can as a janitor at a Federal Reserve Bank.

There, she meets up with Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes who each have both financial and other problems. They form a bond and devise a plan to smuggle currency out of the bank. At first they succeed beyond their wildest dreams, but as usual with these heist stories, things fall apart and they are in real danger of getting snapped up by the law.

My problem with the movie has nothing to do with the plot which actually contains the seeds of a really good comedy. The pacing is good and I wasn't bored at any time watching. The train starts to leave the tracks for me in the plausibility of the story itself followed quickly by the acting. Keaton is not really funny nor properly motivated; nor are any of the others' with the possible grudging exception of Queen Latifah--her motivation rings true and she's got great screen presence. Holmes has never been able to act as far as I'm concerned.

That said, the ersatz motivations are feeble and again, unbelievable. For a heist movie, I didn't see those features that I like: the planning, the suspense as we watch whether that planning will be executed flawlessly and as the inevitable lawman starts snapping at their heels, how do they get away? Yes, in a properly-executed heist movie, the viewer almost roots for the bad guys but it is important that we identify with them (hence motivation).

A possible saving grace would have been if the characters had shown some guilt at the trouble they'd caused. There are no remorseful glance-backs on the characters' parts in Mad Money, no regret which is important to me as it brings a human angle to the story.

I wanted these women to get caught and rot in jail, something most decidedly not comedic. One star for the movie, but an additional star for the Queen.

If anyone had a question regarding the outcome of bringing together a generally appealing Academy Award winning actress, an Academy Award nominated multi-medium performer, supplementing them with a reasonably endearing actress who gained her chops in a critically acclaimed television drama then supporting the lead actors with a bevy of others who have turned in laudable performances in the plethora of programs, including a comedic icon from one of the best situation comedies ever, the answer lies within this movie. Unfortunately, that answer is...not much.

Mad Money is an absolutely unmemorable vehicle for a few recognizably named stars to pick up a nice little paycheck. Nothing about it will incite the reviewer to smash the DVD into shards but it is not a movie that one will leap into the memory even if the objective is light, undemanding entertainment. Diane Keaton seems to have found a niche in her post-fifty acting career and to her credit, she tends to get all that can be expected out of the same character mold movie after movie. Queen Latifah has arrived at a comfort level as well, however she has far too much talent to continue to accept these bootstrapping/struggle to enlightenment/modern paradigm stereotypical roles. Katie Holmes...well, she's still cute...and so is Ted Danson.

So what we end up with is variation on a theme: Fun with Dick and Jane, How to beat the High Cost of Living, Thelma and Louise(adopt Pippi Longstocking), Mad Money. All perfectly enjoyable movies but even in these often challenging economic times, sometimes the screenwriters ask for a suspension of disbelief that is beyond the sensibilities of the movie goer.

While the title of this movie has multiple meanings, it's probably exactly what the producers told these actors they would be receiving for agreeing to participate in this project.

The plot is rather unbelievable and the way Diane Keaton's character "solves" the problem at the very end reinforces the absurdity of the whole story. The acting wasn't entirely the best, as I found many of the lines to be "forced" and unnatural. Ted Danson seemed bored throughout the movie. Katie Holmes' hair stylist should have chosen a different style. Some critics felt the movie was a comedy, but I didn't find many funny scenes. The entire movie felt predictable.

Overall, I cannot highly recommend Mad Money as a "must see" movie, but it isn't a total waste of time since it offers a fundamental level of entertainment or in other words, it isn't a bad way to waste a few hours on a boring Saturday afternoon.

I really enjoyed Mad Money. Its not your average run of the mill movie. Its a female caper movie based on the premise that three women work in the federal reserve and have found a way to steal the money that is normally shredded and destroyed after its worn out.

The movie is well written and well directed. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes are perfectly cast. Their characters are likeable and you'll find yourself rooting for them. No spoilers here, I won't give away whether they get away with it or not. For that, you'll have to watch the movie yourself.

It was a very enjoyable film that I would recommend to anyone.