Mad Money (2008)

Mad Money (2008): Dir: Callie Khori / Cast: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Roger Cross: Formula comedy about our constant strive for riches. When her husband is downsized, Diane Keaton is forced to work as a janitor at the bank. There she meets a single mother played by Queen Latifah and a young drug addict played by Katie Holmes. Together they devise a scheme to steal the money that is shredded at the end of the day. Setup opens with the conclusion, until becoming formula and applauding theft. Directed by Callie Khori who previously made the nitwit comedy The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. This is also about a small ensemble of women but funnier and much more likable. One element that succeeds is the casting. Keaton holds strong as a loyal house wife who does what she can to oppose the unjust against her family. Latifah has a conscience but she also wants the best for her son. Holmes steals moments as a drug addict who listens to her head phones too loud. Ted Danson as Keaton's husband is supportive despite losing his job. Roger Cross plays a security guard who catches them in the act but he is attracted to the Latifah character and has a change of heart. Conclusion gives the wrong message and the wrong reason. Yes, everyone needs to survive and provide for their family, but the message here is warped and demonstrate the down side of money. Score: 7 / 10

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes are in search of "Mad Money" in this 2008 comedy with Ted Danson, Christopher McDonald, and Adam Rothenberg.Bridget (Keaton) and her husband (Danson) are $260,000 in debt, and after losing his job, he hasn't been able to find another one. She goes out and gets a job working as on the cleaning staff of the Federal Reserve. When she sees all the money that gets shredded because it's old, she comes up with an idea - why not take it? She approaches the shredder, Nina (Latifah), who is a single mother with three children. Nina tells her she's out of her mind. If they get caught, Nina will lose her children. Bridget asks her to think about it. Then she approaches Jackie (Holmes), who brings the money to be shredded on her cart, while she's dancing and listening to music on her ipod.All three finally agree, and the women work out an elaborate plan, complete with a hand signal. Everything goes well until Bridget notices a strange man in her yard during a party...and sees him again at the Federal Reserve the next day.This film is reminiscent to "How to Beat the High Cost of Living," which was funnier, but "Mad Money" is amusing and clever with a strong cast or pros. Katie Holmes' was very good as a young, ditsy woman who thinks it all sounds like fun; Queen Latifah brings her usual warmth to her role of the nervous one in the group; and Diane Keaton is terrific as the greedy mastermind who pushes the boundaries and won't take no for an answer.Very enjoyable, a good rental.

I have to say, I wasn't very excited to see this film in the least. I didn't expect very much from it at all. I felt this film was strangely cast. I love all of the actors that were in this movie but I didn't like them all in this together. I didn't like the plot and I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a comedy or not. So I wasn't all too thrilled to see this movie in the first place.After seeing Mad Money, my assumption that I was going to dislike it was proved correct. I was very bored, not amused in the least, I hated the characters as well as the plot all together. The plot didn't even make sense to me. I don't know if I missed something because I was day dreaming half the time or what but I didn't think it made sense. It seemed too simple for them to steal this money and I didn't understand how they were let off if they pretty much admitted that they stole it. Maybe I missed some major point in the plot but I didn't think much of this movie mad sense. Diane Keaton is one of my favorite actresses. I was sorely disappointed that she took this part. She is a billion times better than this role.

The first thing I can say about this is - its a re-make of a fairly good British 'made for TV' movie called Hot Money. For all those who thought it wouldn't happen in real life - it did happen at the Royal Mint several years ago, and Hot Money was a dramatised version of a true story. Mad Money is simply yet another attempt by Hollywood to rip off someone else's idea - just like The Departed. What I can't understand about re-makes is - 'Why bother if the original is still going to be better than the second one?' Hence my overall review of this is - why did they bother?