Mad Money (2008) Overture Films
1 hr. 44 mins.
Starring: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Adam Rothenberg, J.C. MacKenzie, Christopher McDonald, Meagan Fay, Roger R. Cross, Stephen Root
Directed by: Callie Khourie
This film is rated: PG-13

Rating: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

Opportunistic cheeky chicks and kooky cash equal a pointless payday for director Callie Khourie's banal blank check comedy Mad Money. Unfortunately leading stars Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes do not convincingly cash in on their latest on-screen fortune. Mad Money is a straining pseudo-hysterical heist flick that has all the giddy appeal of an empty bank draft.

An unevenly cockeyed cross between Ocean's 11 and Dog Day Afternoon (or aptly Dog Dame Afternoon), the belabored Mad Money is a weak-kneed satire about flustered women in the workplace and the economic disparity that fuels their cynicism to the point of no return. Granted that Khourie is challenged by the notion that a trio of disenfranchised women "sock it" to the uncaring system but the movie's fleeting empathy is compromised by another formulaic feature that is dispensable in its very staid presence. Off-kilter films such as yesteryear's 9 to 5 from 1981 were shrewd enough to juggle genuine slapstick chuckles with crafty commentary about the suppression of women in a hostile work environment with dim hopes. Well, it's clear to see that The Queen, Diane and Katie are no match for the aforementioned 9 to 5's Dolly, Jane or Lily in this specific regard.

To her credit, Khouri does have a natural feel for her female protagonists that are disillusioned by their confining malaise. After all, Khouri was the Oscar-winning screenwriter for the ultimate chick flick that defined "girl power" in the deliciously defiant Thelma & Louise. Still, the larcenous ladies of Mad Money feel as if they're going through the usual motions of meaningless mayhem that never really takes off creatively in all its mischievous unwrapping. Inspired by the British caper piece Hot Money, Khouri's narrative is a mediocre madcap distraction at best. There's nothing here that challenges the audience's appreciation for a decent scheming blueprint that heist films are supposed to provide as an automatic prerequisite.

The contrived proceedings are as followed: well-to-do but zany Kansas City housewife Bridget Cardigan (Oscar-winner Diane Keaton playing the familiar ditzy persona) is forced to seek immediate employment in the wake of her big bucks earning hubby Dan (Emmy-winner Ted Danson) losing his cushy position as an investment advisor. The scatterbrained Bridget accepts the job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank (why this prestigious, high security venue would hire this privileged and pampered woman is unknown to us) out of sheer desperation.

However, Bridget notices a very important tidbit about the bank's surroundings--the so-called excess yet insignificant paper currency that's scheduled to be destroyed. Based on Bridget's reasoning, why sit by and watch unused money go to waste when it can be a major factor in keeping her afloat financially? Thus, Bridget hatches a plan to take advantage of trying to secure the discarded dinero courtesy of the bank's flawed security layout.

Enthusiastically, Bridget enlists a couple of employees to assist her in this ambitious endeavor to scoop up the overabundant loot. Trailer tart Jackie Truman (Katie Holmes) is the transporter of the unwanted bills whose responsibility is to push the worn-out dead presidents to the burning destination. Jackie is gloriously loopy and married to affable loser Bob (Adam Rothenberg). As for single mother Nina Brewster (Queen Latifah), she's in charge of the burn room where the no good bills end up perishing. Nina is in need of some needed funds for the schooling of her two young sons. Hence, the opportunity for the pair to hook up with Bridget's risky agenda in swiping "mad money" from the Federal Reserve Bank seems promising.

Consequently, Mad Money is a schematic mess of a movie. The suspense feels remote and synthetic. Screenwriter Glenn Gers presents nothing here to suggest the angst-ridden circumstances that drives these women to the criminal tendencies that overwhelm them. As for the whole idea behind the movie's brand of shenanigans behind the heist, everything screams of arbitrary confusion and ridiculousness. The mere thought of Keaton's Bridget "feeling the economic pinch" by undergoing an animated Lucille Ball-like escapade in coping with her jeopardized lavish lifestyle feels woefully forced and nonsensical. Any inkling of urgency in the comedy is buried in the thinly veiled characterizations and spotty kinks in the laughable script. Khouri's direction is needlessly pedestrian and the fact that these wacky women are driven to connive in this clueless caper conjures up visions of unoriginal forethought.

Keaton grates on the nerves as the rickety ringmaster Bridget and has never been so annoying since her forgettable turn in the anemically sappy Because I Said So. The constant mugging at the camera isn't very becoming for Keaton within the framework of this vacuous vehicle. Holmes is noticeably awkward as the working class wench with a spacey persona. Only Latifah comes off mildly acceptable as a legitimate soul that one can truly understand is mixed up in a dire situation that begs for her misguided participation. The supporting cast is sprinkled in for a disposable cause and effect purpose designed to provide complications for our roguish threesome. Stephen Root is in the throwaway role of Grover, the bank security director that Bridget and her cohorts must outwit and outsmart to realize their illegal mission. Roger R. Cross is the guard that tickles Nina's/Latifah's fancy until he stumbles upon the women's charade. Danson and Rothenberg routinely fill the gap as the hapless men in the lives of Bridget and Jackie's stillborn existences.

Rest assure that moviegoers may go broke watching these bank-robbing broads go nutty in an inane celebration to cure their financial feistiness in a callow comedy caper that couldn't figure out how to complete a withdrawal slip.

Frank Ochieng
@ World Voice News (2008)