Bandits Review
by Karina Montgomery (cinerina AT flash DOT net)October 31st, 2001
Bandits
Matinee plus snacks
It took me forever to get to see this film, and I am glad to say that it was worth the wait. I had to go alone because no one was interested in seeing it, which blows my mind, considering the cast (always keeping the great cast/crap film icon of Sphere in mind, also directed by Barry Levinson). But now I can say, hey, this movie was really fun and exciting! Bandits is another page out of Hollywood's Young Criminal's Handbook, with all kinds of great ways to commit crimes and get away scot free, but of course, the movie really is about love. OK, not really either. It's a crime spree comedy with very little violence, a lot of good manners and astoundingly sympathetic characters for being so utterly morally bankrupt. It's quite fun.
Cate Blanchett is great, which is no news to anyone who has seen her in anything, but she gets to be a rich housewife, outlaw, sex kitten, goofball, victim, love interest, and hard-rocking Bonnie Tyler fan all in the span of 123 short minutes. Bruce Willis is leaning heavily on his sure-fire crookedly smiling persona of a nice crook who just wants what he wants and no one will get hurt. It's nothing new, but it's always a pleasure. Billy Bob Thornton, for the first time for myself and others I have talked with, really comes off as funny and even sexy, in a wacky kind of way. This character is someone who Steve Buscemi might have played, comedically pathetic but also totally interesting and sympathetic. It's a delight to watch them work and play together.
On top of having a cast with great chemistry, Levinson has found himself a script worth filming, and what seems like something wrong and out of place at the beginning falls right into place by the end, so neatly that you have to grin with delight and applaud. The screenwriter, Harley Peyton, mostly has TV credits under his belt, not unlike the last film I liked very well, My First Mister. Only having TV experience used to be the kiss of death, but from what I have read lately, all the "good" writers are flocking to independent film studios and TV to still retain an iota of their original work. As a result, they get a lot of practice in developing strong characters that are easily identifiable yet not slick and quick; they have to develop them for 13 to potentially 200 episodes, so they have a skill of conciseness that the too-many-cooks approach in Hollywood is killing. I am certain this film had to be subjected to the same horrible audience testing gamut, but the nice thing about when a movie is made right the first time, you don't actually have to change much after the studios force you to test it. Are you listening, Big Hollywood?
Sure, a few things (like their getaway lad's obsession with a hitchhiker) are skimmed over in favor of making it a gag, but the parts that are skimmed really would have broken the pace of the film. Bravo to all involved. And hurrah to Cate not just being an Actresse but also being a cool, funny, exciting lady with a fun plot to play with. If you haven't already seen it, go see it. There is so much garbage out there right now it's nice to be able to say, "I liked it!" when you come out.
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These reviews (c) 2001 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
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