Abbolita Productions, Gotham Group, Starstream Entertainment,
Jennifer Aniston, Mos Def, Isla Fisher, Will Forte, Mark Boone Junior, Tim Robbins, John Hawkes, Clea Lewis, Charlie Tahan, Kevin Corrigan
Frank Dawson (Tim Robins) is a developer who has earned a lot of money rather unscrupulously. He’s a bit of a bastard, and his long suffering wife, Mickey (Jennifer Aniston) does her best to put up with his crap. Frank is off on another business trip which is really a tryst with his girlfriend Melanie (Isla Fisher) and Franks divorce papers are in the mail so that Mickey will get it while he’s away and he won’t have to deal with it. But things don’t go as planned when Mickey is kidnapped by a few quirky common thieves who lock her away and demand a million dollars from Frank who doesn’t want to pay. Things get really screwy in this drama with a side of comedy.
Jennifer Aniston is amazing, isn’t she? It’s because of her performance that this movie even works. As it is, she was really good. This story seems very, very similar to “Ruthless People” with Bette Midler and Danny DeVito where she was kidnapped from a husband who didn’t want her. But this is quite different. “Ruthless People” was done as a slapstick comedy with laughs coming every minute. This film, though very funny in parts, is much more dramatic and a lot more serious. The crooks who kidnap her are about as incompetent as “The Apple Dumpling Gang” but somehow they are clever enough to pull it off without being silly. Tim Robbins was perfectly cast as the uncaring husband and he did a good job, but the gem in this film has to be Isla Fisher who is really perfect as the mistress who has an angle of her own. There are twists and turns throughout the movie, and it’s actually a very interesting story. I was impressed by this film as a streaming movie (I haven’t found a place to buy it yet, but it’s available for streaming) and it was a pleasant journey watching this movie. I recommend this as an unusual relationship story with a side of crime and treachery topped with a heaping helping of comedy. If you find this one, give it a shot. If just for Jennifer Aniston’s performance alone it will be worth it.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
