Movie Review - Mad Money

I saw Mad Money tonight.

It didn't suck. In fact, it was a pretty good light-hearted comedy.

It's not the type of movie that requires repeated viewings because the basic plot is pretty predictable but the way that they do it is ingenius. This movie reminded me a lot of How To Beat The High Cost Of Living which was a GREAT movie! But, I think I've seen that movie maybe twice, yet I can vividly remember most of the movie, so that's why Mad Money would fall into that same category.

Basic plot: A seemingly well-off married couple (Diane Keaton & Ted Danson) falls into serious debt when the husband is let go from his job. The wife who had been a stay at home mom, now has to find a job but because she has no qualifications and pretty much no skills, her cleaning woman gives a reference and the married woman ends up getting a job as a janitor at the federal reserve where they destroy worn out bills. She is completely awestruck by all this money that is being wasted and devises a plan to steal some of it but cannot do it alone. She sets mini-traps at work to figure out who she would able to trust with this idea of hers and finds two willing participants - a single mom with two boys (Queen Latifah) and a young married trailer trash hottie (Katie Holmes) whose husband works at a meat plant.

The plan she comes up with is actually pretty cool and makes you wonder if the idea from it came from real events. It works out for awhile until one of them gets a little greedy and once you get greedy, you get sloppy and they get a hair's distance away from getting caught.

The beginning of the movie plays off a bit like a caper and the beginning is the end. I'm not much of a flashback fan but they did quite well. There wasn't much chemistry between the couples that were supposed to be madly in love with each other, and although there were lots of funny lines, the characters seemed disconnected from each other, but it's an enjoyable flick and worth at least one viewing. Not necessary to see it on the big screen, though, so you can wait til it comes out on dvd...so go make sure to save your money to see I Am Legend before it leaves theaters because as I mentioned before several times, that one definitely needs to be seen on the big screen. (It's been out for awhile, but I never posted my review on here, so I'll make sure to copy and paste the reviews of the movies I saw when they first came out before I had started this blog. That way you're all up to date.)

When Mad Money comes out on dvd, I'm still going to buy it to make sure it's part of my collection; but, honestly, I remember it well enough that I don't need to see it again for awhile. Although now I'm thinking I want to go find my copy of How To Beat The High Cost Of Living. (Forget Coneheads or Third Rock From The Sun...How To Beat The High Cost Of Living was Jane Curtin at her funniest.) :]

Vixy :]