Reviews

Mad Money

Ain't nothin' but a paycheck

By MARK BAZER | January 16, 2008

1.0 Stars

Katie Homes

The money in Callie Khouri’s Mad Money refers to the thousands of old greenbacks that are destroyed every day at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City to make way for newly minted bills. But if you’ve got wrinkly cash you’d like to throw out, you needn’t call up the Fed — just hand it over at the box office and say, “One ticket for Mad Money.” It’s a comedic buddy crime caper without (a) laughs, (b) buddies worth caring about, and (c) much of a crime. But it does have stars: Diane Keaton (daffy!), Queen Latifah (sassy!), and Katie Holmes, who despite avoiding stereotype is cast as the most annoying of the three. They play menial workers at the Fed who concoct a scheme to steal money before it’s shredded. Hey, they’ve got their reasons. It’s an impoverished tale, but for Keaton, Latifah, and Holmes, not to mention Ted Danson, Adam Rothberg, and Roger R. Cross playing the men in their characters’ lives, Mad Money ain’t nothin’ but a paycheck. 104 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Circle/Chestnut Hill + suburbs

Related: Primary concerns, Queen Latifah, The Last Holiday, More

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ARTICLES BY MARK BAZER

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I'm hard-pressed to say, though, whether Extract is a significant leap forward for Judge in terms of story or just not as funny as his earlier work.

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Mac especially is a joy to watch, and a counterpoint to the humor elsewhere, as he breaks out Temptations-style moves with just the right mix of sly fun and respect for the music.

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As the lead character narrates his “filthy” story, and those of his London flatmates/neighbors, we hit upon boredom long before wisdom can arrive.

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Kids who see the truth when adults cannot is a central idea in children’s stories, but today’s kids would hardly recognize the grown-ups in Ember’s totalitarian society.