Writer Harley Peyton puts a spin on the script of Bandits, making his trio of bank robbers compassionate, harmless and down right funny. You end up rooting for them as the movie progresses. Director Barry Levinson is brilliant as he makes his robbers become the heroes while the police are deemed the bad guys.
Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and Terry Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) are inmates who partner up in an escape from prison by stealing a cement truck. Once out, they decide to rob a bank by using a yellow highlighter as their sole weapon. In order to fulfill their much longed for dream of opening a nightclub in Mexico, they expertly plot a series of bank robberies. To secure them from ever being captured, the plan is to enter the home of the bank manager the night before the robbery, sleep over and escort that person to work the next morning. All is well until an unstable woman named Kate (Cate Blanchett) enters the game by hitting Terry with her car. After much quarreling, the duo decides to keep the woman on board, allowing her to join in the fiasco. Their title quickly becomes "The Sleepover Bandits" as a TV tabloid show, "Criminals at Large," follows their every move.
Willis and Thornton make a marvelous team. Opposite in every way possible, Joe is the sexy, strong criminal while Terry harbors the neurotic brain behind the operation. Thornton's choices of his character's facial ticks, his compulsive manner and nervousness are brilliant in its exploration. Willis is pretty much the same aggressive man going for the girl (Kate) and yes, he succeeds. Although, it's nice to see that macho Joe doesn't get to keep pretty Kate. He must share her after she falls for his other half, Terry. The movie takes a turn after Kate professes her love to both men. Now, the movie focuses less on the robberies and more on who gets to keep Kate. She says that she cannot decide between the two and that together, they make the perfect man.
Cate Blanchett is an extraordinary actress but is a bit too crazed in this movie, going overboard with her character as a dissatisfied housewife. At times, you feel compassion towards her character and at others, you just want her to shut up. Maybe this is what she intended but it doesn't make her character too lovable. Blanchett shows her vulnerable, free-spirited side while singing a hilariously disastrous rendition of "Walk On By." This scene follows along the lines of Cameron Diaz's impromptu version of "I Just Don't Know" from My Best Friend's Wedding.
Worth mentioning is the lesser-known actor, Troy Garity, as Joe's cousin Harvey, whom Joe talks into joining the gang. Harvey is an aspiring LA stuntman who ends up driving the getaway car for each heist. While perfectly fitting in between Thornton and Willis, Garity brings very amusing nimrod qualities to Harvey as we watch him fall off buildings and set himself ablaze.
While the movie is cute and seemingly funny, in its entirety, it is too long. Cuts to the tabloid show "Criminals at Large" are not necessary to further any plot. Neither are flashbacks from the ending scene as a narration for the entire movie. It's nice to use that technique of having the characters narrate the movie from the end but it doesn't help any here. Plus we've already seen it done many times and if removed, wouldn't affect the movie at all. It would just tighten it. Otherwise, this movie is a great escape for the country right now, a nice dose of comedy mixed in with a pinch of action and voilá, you have America smiling.
Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and Terry Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) are inmates who partner up in an escape from prison by stealing a cement truck. Once out, they decide to rob a bank by using a yellow highlighter as their sole weapon. In order to fulfill their much longed for dream of opening a nightclub in Mexico, they expertly plot a series of bank robberies. To secure them from ever being captured, the plan is to enter the home of the bank manager the night before the robbery, sleep over and escort that person to work the next morning. All is well until an unstable woman named Kate (Cate Blanchett) enters the game by hitting Terry with her car. After much quarreling, the duo decides to keep the woman on board, allowing her to join in the fiasco. Their title quickly becomes "The Sleepover Bandits" as a TV tabloid show, "Criminals at Large," follows their every move.
Willis and Thornton make a marvelous team. Opposite in every way possible, Joe is the sexy, strong criminal while Terry harbors the neurotic brain behind the operation. Thornton's choices of his character's facial ticks, his compulsive manner and nervousness are brilliant in its exploration. Willis is pretty much the same aggressive man going for the girl (Kate) and yes, he succeeds. Although, it's nice to see that macho Joe doesn't get to keep pretty Kate. He must share her after she falls for his other half, Terry. The movie takes a turn after Kate professes her love to both men. Now, the movie focuses less on the robberies and more on who gets to keep Kate. She says that she cannot decide between the two and that together, they make the perfect man.
Cate Blanchett is an extraordinary actress but is a bit too crazed in this movie, going overboard with her character as a dissatisfied housewife. At times, you feel compassion towards her character and at others, you just want her to shut up. Maybe this is what she intended but it doesn't make her character too lovable. Blanchett shows her vulnerable, free-spirited side while singing a hilariously disastrous rendition of "Walk On By." This scene follows along the lines of Cameron Diaz's impromptu version of "I Just Don't Know" from My Best Friend's Wedding.
Worth mentioning is the lesser-known actor, Troy Garity, as Joe's cousin Harvey, whom Joe talks into joining the gang. Harvey is an aspiring LA stuntman who ends up driving the getaway car for each heist. While perfectly fitting in between Thornton and Willis, Garity brings very amusing nimrod qualities to Harvey as we watch him fall off buildings and set himself ablaze.
While the movie is cute and seemingly funny, in its entirety, it is too long. Cuts to the tabloid show "Criminals at Large" are not necessary to further any plot. Neither are flashbacks from the ending scene as a narration for the entire movie. It's nice to use that technique of having the characters narrate the movie from the end but it doesn't help any here. Plus we've already seen it done many times and if removed, wouldn't affect the movie at all. It would just tighten it. Otherwise, this movie is a great escape for the country right now, a nice dose of comedy mixed in with a pinch of action and voilá, you have America smiling.