The Almost Perfect Bank Robbery (1999)

I feel that this movie is a superb effort which truly meets all the normal criteria upon which movies are typically judged by so-called "experts." It is well-directed, well-acted, well-written, and is totally enjoyable with great pacing. Can't remember the last time I've had so much fun! The comedy aspect is a revelation, especially with regard to Shields! Who knew? I've suffered with Brooke through all her various incarnations on film while squirming in my seat with embarrassment for her. I've been pulling for her for years in hopes of better acting days without actually believing that those days would come. But with this performance, she's finally been able to put it all together by giving a mature, highly-professional, fully-developed comedic character portrayal - - a most difficult acting assignment. The supporting cast is also equal to the task with the inimitable Rip Torn leading the way with his portrayal of FBI lead-agent, Royce, who's in love with his large collection of lawn mowers. And Dylan Walsh's performance as the easily-influenced boyfriend/husband who's lost in love with Shield's "ultimate babe" character provides some needed balance to this otherwise unbalanced relationship. The outright knee-slapping, belly laughs are provided by Walsh's lowlife junkyard brother and his wife, Marlene (who changes TV channels with a pair of vice grips!...and physically assaults him for the credit cards to go to the new mall opening.) Their search for the proper spelling of the word "savory", had me rolling on the living room floor holding my sides and fighting for breath! Now the true elitist cinefile might dismiss this inexpensive, made-for-TV effort as just moderately good junk, but I feel it is a major, overlooked jewel that deserves a better fate than to be found only in the blow-out bin at the local Walmart. It can still be ordered online, if not downloaded and streamed. I suggest you do just that for a truly enjoyable evening of superb fun entertainment.

I accidentally ran into this movie while fixing my TV/computer. I saw Brooke Sheilds all dolled up in an eccentric outfit and started giggling. It took only a few minutes for her and the other actors to actually charm me into watching this film. I was confused as I had no recall of it being a theatrical release. I then checked here at IMDb and found out it was a TV movie! What a waste! It should have been released in theatres! It really has charm, comedy, suspense, warmth, and excellent performances and fine direction. There are some films that have memorable performances and these folks really dug in and made these characters a riot.It's too funny and I won't give out spoilers. It doesn't have any sleaze or violence but it has those characters you would see in an episode of 'Cops'. Well worth the purchase and rental. A real unexpected treat. Anyone saying Brooke Shields can't act should be taken out back and beaten with a half roasted buffalo hoof.

Endearing, fast-paced offspring of Raising Arizona (1987) and "actual events", this jinxed comedy debuted on US tv during the dog days of summer when everyone I know was still on vacation. Please be home the next time it's aired.Filmed several years earlier at a moment in history when it would've been hyped as a Brooke Shields/Rip Torn vehicle, "The Almost Perfect Bank Robbery" will one day be known as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dylan Walsh's commanding performance.A catchy score, richly-detailed comic touches in every scene, great attention to the peculiar supporting cast (at least five of whom were huge fun to watch in Radioland Murders), and the genial spoofing of our fondness for mall openings and "Wheel of Fortune"--none of the above would've kept me glued to the tube if it weren't for the adhesive that Dylan Walsh's performance applied to all that silliness.He created a character SO earnest and SO focused (in perfect contrast to his scatterbrained sweetheart) that purely in sympathy I HAD to take the movie as seriously as he took his caper. While the rest of the cast diverts our attention with comic vignettes, all the suspense, all the credibility, and our only hold on this runaway train of a plot--it's all to be found on Walsh's face and in his body language. As the pressure builds, he lets us see his confidence begin to crumble, just a little at a time, while laboring to hide his feelings from everyone else.Brooke Shields's lie-detector scene will make you laugh out loud (good acting, great writing), but Walsh's lie-detector scene will make you sweat. Does any actor since Peter Lorre do pure anxiety better than Dylan Walsh?The director, who clearly enjoys drawing our attention to so many visual details, was right to comment that his movie was "almost" perfect; no movie is perfect if it can't manage a scene in a car without yanking the rear-view mirror. I HATE that! We've overcome the difficulties of ceilings and wall-to-wall carpeting, but in this age of Industrial Light & Magic, why oh why is it still so hard to show us the rear-view mirror?

Of all the Movies of the Week I've made in the past several years, this remains the one I had the best time making, and at the same time, achieves most of what I was trying to do as a filmmaker. But, alas, it remains on the shelf at CBS, caught in a tangle of 'internal politics', or so I'm told. If it ever sees the light of day, check it out.