Mad Money

Mad Money is an inoffensive, sporadically entertaining, yet ultimately underwhelming effort revolving around three Federal Reserve employees who concoct a plan to steal thousands of dollars from the joint, with Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes ably stepping into the shoes of the film’s broadly-drawn central characters. Director Callie Khouri has infused Mad Money with all the style and grace of a garden-variety sitcom, and there’s little doubt that the bland vibe is reflected in virtually every aspect of the proceedings. And while the supporting cast has been peppered with a number of familiar faces, including Ted Danson, Christopher McDonald, and Roger Cross, Stephen Root quickly establishes himself as the movie’s most entertaining attribute thanks to his deliciously smarmy performance as the Reserve’s stodgy manager. The chemistry between Keaton and her cohorts undoubtedly goes a long way towards keeping things initially interesting, though there does reach a point at which the whole thing starts to run out of steam (a problem that’s exacerbated by the almost unreasonably predictable nature of the screenplay). The eye-rollingly upbeat conclusion cements Mad Money‘s status as a wish-fulfillment fantasy aimed at the lowest-common-denominator, although, admittedly, one could certainly do worse as far as recent Diane Keaton comedies go (eg 2007’s abhorrent Because I Said So).

** out of ****