January 24, 2008 in GENRES

MAD MONEY

RYAN: “Mad Money” brings Mrs. Tom Cruise back to the silver screen at long last.


CAROLINE: Oh, how we’ve been waiting! Welcome back, Kate. Joining her are Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton in a movie directed by the woman who wrote “Thelma & Louise.”

RYAN: I like a good female caper film. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one before… Oh wait; there was that one with Jada Pinkett Smith. Anyway, “Mad Money” is a little slow moving, but it’s cute. Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton are fantastic.

CAROLINE: How is Diane always so good? She’s perfect for this role. She’s so natural and she plays a WASP very believably. She looks fabulous in winter white.

RYAN: She has her signature style in this film, with the cinched waist and the pearls. And I loved her hair! Her chunky highlights are fabulous. Queen Latifah, on the other hand, is not looking her best.

CAROLINE: She’s very chesty despite the boob reduction. It’s weird, ‘cuz hen you look at her from behind, her legs and butt aren’t actually that big. But from the front, she’s so top-heavy that she looks fat.

RYAN: I didn’t love her braids either.

CAROLINE: Well, she’s not supposed to be super glam in this film. She works at the Federal Reserve after all.

RYAN: Katie Holmes looked okay but she’s definitely lost the sparkle in her eyes. Her performance was a little flat. She definitely seemed like she was acting and she wasn’t natural at all.

CAROLINE: I liked her flaky character though. She dances around listening to her headphones all day.

RYAN: Yeah, but she had no rhythm.

CAROLINE: She’s a white girl. Cut her some slack.

RYAN: Well, so are you and you can still shake a tail feather. I’ve seen it with mine own eyes.

CAROLINE: This movie is cute. Cute enough for a January release anyway. There were a couple of times where it needed to pick up the pace a little.

RYAN: I think the script had some problems. The movie is too long; they could have shaved out about 20 minutes. I would have liked to have seen it told more like a “Mission: Impossible” or a “Charlie’s Angels,” where things were more laid out before they happened. There was too much winking and nodding between the girls as they start the robbery. It was a little over the top. Bottom line?

CAROLINE: No one needs to rush to the theater to see this movie. And as last weekend’s box office indicated, no one is. It’s not the worst movie out there, but I can see why they decided to release it in January. Despite its huge stars, it’s no great shakes.

RYAN: I’m sure every Scientologist is gonna do their part and see this in support of Kate Holmes.

CAROLINE: I bet they had special screenings at the Celebrity Center.

RYAN: Totally. I could see myself ordering this movie on pay-per-view or watching it on TV sometime if I hadn’t just seen it in the theater. Ted Danson is really good as Diane Keaton’s husband.

CAROLINE: He has some good one-liners that he delivers very well.

RYAN: That’s about it. The movie’s fine. Take it or leave it.

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