A nurse tries to prove that the paralyzed bank robber under her care
is faking his stroke, as she sees him as her ticket to an exciting life. COMEDY/CRIME
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Where the Money Is (2000)Directed by Marek Kanievska
Written by E. Max Frye, Topper Lilien, Carroll Cartwright Starring Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino, Dermot Mulroney |
Paul Newman squeaked this one out right before Road to Perdition, where he earned his final Oscar nomination. Prior to that, Newman was a highly respected, world-renowned, Oscar-winning actor who could have had any role he wanted. I would've thought a paycheck gig was beneath him, but here we are with Where the Money Is, a theatrical release with all the backbone and charm of a Lifetime original movie. From its horrible title to its weak ending, this film's most interesting moments occur in the first twenty minutes. After that, we get a heist comedy that lacks the thrills of a heist movie and the laughs of a comedy.
Henry (Newman) is an imprisoned bank robber who has a stroke and is sent to a nursing home due to overcrowding. His nurse, Carol (Fiorentino) becomes convinced (for some reason) that Henry is faking his comatose state in order to escape prison. She goes to insane lengths to prove this, including dropping him in a lake, which amazingly works, revealing that Henry is indeed faking it, and has been for years. Henry and Carol strike up a friendship, much to the chagrin of Carol's husband Wayne (Mulroney). Carol wants an exciting life, so she and Henry decide to rob an armored car, and Wayne wants in to protect Carol. It all happens pretty fast, with nobody thinking a damn thing through. Despite the plan going off without a hitch, Wayne snitches on them in the end to save his wife from a life of crime. Beyond Newman's delightful screen presence, there's very little to be invested in because the stakes never seem that high. Where the Money Is has a movie-of-the-week feel to it, and that's a bad place to be. There's a way to do this movie where it can be tense but charming, like Ocean's Eleven meets As Good As It Gets. But ultimately, it's just generic and forgettable, and it's a shame that this was one of Newman's last roles. |