Who's in It: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson
The Basics: Three women knock over the Federal Reserve. Each one has a reason why: Keaton is comfortably upscale and wants to keep it that way; Latifah wants to send her kids to private school; Holmes just wants to be rich and go to Czechoslovakia. That's about it.
What's the Deal? It's a caper with no imagination and no bounce, shot in the most grim, sterile, lifeless manner possible. It's a comedy that's 99 percent not funny. It's a ladies-take-revenge-on-society movie with shallow motives and no amount explanation of why that society deserves it. Depressing on all counts.
Two Funny Lines. Here They Are:
1. Latifah resists joining in the heist. She'll lose her kids if she's caught. She tells Keaton she doesn't "want things (she) can't have." Keaton's response: "Do you live in America?" That's a good one and the closest it comes to having any point of view about why these women are doing what they're doing.
2. Holmes tells Danson that she wants to travel with her money and go to Czechoslovakia. He tells her it hasn't existed since 1992. She gets a funny look on her face when he says this. You kinda have to be there. But don't. Really. Don't be there.
What I Believe Happened to Holmes' Performance: It's as if someone came in and erased her. She's barely in it when the plot doesn't specifically call for her mechanical presence. I suspect the involvement of a spouse in post-production. I have no proof, of course.
Biggest Tragedy: Directed by Callie Khouri. She wrote Thelma & Louise. I'll say it again: SHE WROTE THELMA & LOUISE. What happened to this sad little update project is a mystery to which we may never have an answer.