One for the Money
AMC Loews Village 7, January 29, 2012
Movie #7 for 2012
Stephanie Plum (KATHERINE HEIGL), Jersey girl, is out of work. The bills mount up so she takes what she can get: bringing in bail jumpers for her bondman cousin Vinny. In between the easy gets (like a flasher who lives in her building), Stephanie is hunting a big fish: her ex-might-have-been boyfriend Morelli (JASON O'MARA, pictured with Heigl), a good cop hiding out from a bum rap. On the side, she gets bounty-hunting tips from a serious bad ass named Ranger (DANIEL SUNJATA). Oh hey, look at that, a love triangle.
I am being very kind to One For the Money for two very good reasons:
1. I have a deep fondness for Stephanie Plum - I read a bunch of the Janet Evanovich novels when they first came out, like, fifteen years ago (before they got tiresome and silly after about book five). She’s a character with a lot to like about her, and I couldn’t separate the film character, who everyone told me was bland and spark-less, from the book character who I remember really enjoying (when I was sixteen and had no taste whatsoever). I guess that means they got something about the film a bit right?
2. I was drunk when I saw it.
Objectively, I can see that it’s not a very good film - the male/female relationships are offensively throwback-y and the violence (especially after Haywire) is shockingly cavalier. The cast - all tremendously good-looking - really can’t fake chemistry at all, the script is nonsensical and the direction is plodding. But, I’m not ashamed to say it, I - and my beers - had quite a good time.
