One For The Money

Cupcake the Bounty Hunter

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Rated: PG-13  Violence, sexual references and language, some drug material and partial nudity.
Release Date: January 27, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 46 min

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Director: Julie Anne Robinson

Writers: Stacy Sherman, Karen Ray, Liz Brixius, from the novel by Janet Evanovich
Cast: Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, John Leguzamo, Sherri Shepherd, Debbie Reynolds, Debra Monk, Daniel Sunjata

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SYNOPSIS: Unemployed and recently divorced Stephanie Plum watches as her bills pile up and her car gets repossessed, spending too much time with her family. Settling for a job at her cousin's bail-bond business, her first assignment puts her on the pursuit of a local cop she used to date.

REVIEW: Director Julie Anne Robinson, known for The Last Song and various television projects, takes on the Janet Evanovich novel 'One of the Money'. Published in 1994 and spending 75 weeks on the USA Today top 150 best-selling novels, Evanovich's lead character bounty hunter Stephanie Plum first found her way to the small screen in 2002. Now, with a script written by God Sleeps in Rwanda's Stacy Sherman, first time scribe Karen Ray and 'Nurse Jackie' creater/writer Liz Brixius, Katherine Heigl takes on the Stephanie Plum role on the way up to the big screen.

Out of work Newark Macy's lingerie manager Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl, New Year's Eve) finds that her bills are piling up. As she has dinner with her mom (Debra Monk, The Great Buck Howard), dad (Louis Mustillo, 'Mike and Molly'), and Grams (Debbie Reynolds, The Bodyguard) her car gets repossessed for non-payment. Desperate for work, Stephanie tries for a filing job at her cousin Vinnie's Patrick Fischler, Red State) bail bondsman business. When secretary Connie (Ana Reeder, The Locksmith) tells her she may be better suited for 'skip' work, Stephanie finds out that the guy she gave away her virginity to during high school, Joe Morelli (Jason O'Mara, Resident Evil: Extinction), has skipped his court appearance and could put 10% of the bond - $50,000 - in her pocket if she brought him in. As Stephanie gets her feet wet in the bounty hunter trade, hunky pro hunter nicknamed Ranger (Daniel Sunjata, 'Rescue Me') gets her acquainted with firearms, lock-picking, and the art of investigating, as well as getting her out of a couple embarrassing jams that she gets herself into. During her pursuit of Morelli, fueled partially by the $50,000 cut of the bond and partially by her grudge against Joe for not calling her after they had sex, Stephanie finds herself out-classed at every turn by both fugitive cop Morelli and by the shady characters that she runs into during her investigation. She finds herself in too deep as she has to confront boxing club owner Jimmy Alpha (John Leguizamo, The Lincoln Lawyer), anger-unmanaged fighter Benito Ramirez (Gavin-Keith Umeh, 'Lights Out'), as well as being helped along by a pair of hookers, Lula (Sherri Shephard, The Help) and Jackie (Ryan Michelle Bathe, 'Trauma'). Eventually bringing in Morelli, for love or money, becomes secondary to finding out what really happened the night that off-duty cop Morelli shot and killed a supposedly unarmed heroin dealer named Ziggy.

Katherine Heigl tries to reclaim some of of her action romantic comedy credibility after her turn as a government operatives wife in Killers. As Janet Evanovich's character Stephanie Plum, Heigl uses her quirky charms to bring the character to life on the big screen in a silly but serious way. Like a modern day Nancy Drew with unpaid bills to pay, she sets out in one direction to bring in the former boyfriend bad guy until she realized that there is more to the FTA (Failure to Appear) than meets the eye. Jason O'Mara's Joe is a perfect foil to Plum, using his masculine charms to get out of the jams that Stephanie puts him into. Maybe a little amber of love still could ignite between them 'cause the tension is palpable, for sure.

The rest of the cast add color to the story, resembling a motley crew of an extended New Jersey family for Stephanie to interact with. From an all-too-frank grandma with sex, guns and minor lawbreaking on her mind (just ask a poor turkey on the receiving end of a bullet), to a stereotypical Bail Bonds secretary complete with long nails and a stick of gum between her teeth, to cousin Vinnie who tried to kiss Stephanie on her wedding day (in a bad way), the story is fleshed out with more than just the chase and the case.

Evanovich's story works with Heigl and O'Mara at the lead. Not an over-the-top action-packed affair, One for the Money does still deliver a plucky story at a decent pace. Watching Plum get into delicate predicaments is half the fun. Watching her try to best Morelli is the other half. Who will win out? We think she will get the job done in the end, but at what cost?

Katherine Heigl is cute, funny and capable at Evanovich's Stephanie Plum. With her blond locks turned brown to match her eyes, Heigl takes a step away from her typical look, even if the role is right up her alley. If your expectations are running to a high impact actioner or a total romantic comedy, this will not fit the bill. If you are looking for a nice amalgam of the two, One for the Money may be worth a little pocket change.

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WORTH: Matinee or Rental

New Year's Eve

Pause and Reflect

Director: Garry Marshall

Writers: Katherine Fugate
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Seth Meyers, Sarah Paulson, Til Schweiger, Katherine Heigl, Jon Bon Jovi, Sofia Vergara, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Sarah Jesica Parker, Abigail Breslin, Josh Duhamel, Hilary Swank, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Hector Elizondo

SYNOPSIS: The stories of the lives of several couples, singles, parents and children intersect throughout the course of New Year's Eve.

REVIEW: Garry Marshall, the director of such romantic comedies as Overboard, Runaway Bride, and Valentine's Day, returns to the screen for another holiday titled and themed movie. Marshall re-teams with his Valentine's Day writer Katherine Fugate and a cavalcade of stars for a film revolving around only a few of the millions stories and people as one of the most festive and renewing holidays counts down.

As the hours leading up to midnight an the dropping of the New York City New Year's Ball loom, New Year's Eve focuses on several stories of the lives of people dealing with the holiday and each other. Tame and timid Ahern Records employee Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer, Stardust) realizes that she needs to make a change and employs bike messenger Paul (Zac Efron, 17 Again) to help her cross off item from her long-standing New Year's resolutions list in exchange for four tickets to a hot masquerade ball hosted by her record company. Stan Harris (Robert De Niro, Little Fockers) lies in a hospital bed hours from the end of his life, desperate to see the ball drop just one last time. Nurse Aimee (Halle Berry, Monster's Ball) plans to stay with him until her shift ends just before midnight. Pregnant Tess Byrne (Jessica Biel, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) and her husband Griffin (Seth Meyers, I Don't Know How She Does It) may be delivering in the hours following the ringing in of the new year. But labor pains are coupled with competition when they find out from rival couple Grace (Sarah Paulson, The Spirit) and James Schwab (Til Schweiger, Inglourious Basterds) that the first baby born in the new year at the hospital receives $25,000. Catering chef Laura (Katherine Heigl, Killers) and her sous chef Ava (Sofia Vergara, Modern Family) hosts the biggest party of their company's career, even though the main performer at the engagement is Laura's ex-fiancee rock star Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi, Pay It Forward). Holiday humbug Randy (Ashton Kutcher, Killers) finds himself stuck in his apartment elevator with holiday hopeful new 5B tenant Elise (Lea Michele, Glee). Radio City Rockette costume designer Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker, I Don't Know How She Does It) plans to stay at home with her fifteen year old daughter Hailey (Abigail Breslin, Zombieland) to watch the ball drop, but Hailey dreams of meeting up with a cute boy in Times Square for a kiss at midnight against her mother's wishes. Sam (Josh Duhamel) wishes his friends well as they complete their wedding vows then finds himself at the mercy of the kindness of strangers in order to get back to the Manhattan for a party toast and a possible midnight rendezvous with a woman he met last New Year's Eve. And finally, Claire Morgan (Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry), the vice president of the Times Square Alliance, feels the pressures of keeping the ball drop on schedule when the raising of the multi-light sphere runs into an electrical problem.

New Year's Eve packs a lot of tales into one film. Just outlining the bare bones of the stories involved takes groundwork. And in each slice of life, there is reflection and remembrance, humor and sadness. And once in a while, a couple of individuals in the sea of millions cross paths. Sometimes they are like ships passing in the night. Other times it seems cosmic forces attract people together or repel them apart. As the seconds tick by and the hum of anticipation for the clock striking twelve mounts, anything is possible.

Garry Marshall knows what he is doing. He is a romantic comedy maestro who has delighted audiences for decades. And his directing clout draws out so many stars, they are too numerous to mention. Even in small roles, each actor or actress can bring a smile to your face when they come into view. Fugate's story lifts up the spirit, even in moments where there is no hope. The new year brings the promise of new beginnings, new life, and resolutions for changes in our lives.

The pace of the film builds slowly, each story's foundation deliberately placed. As the countdown ends and the Times Square New Year's Eve ball drops to usher in a new year, the serendipity of the separated stories combines to fill in a nicely interwoven tapestry of the fabric of life.

WORTH: Matinee or Rental

Killers

Spies and Spouses
[Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, Catherine O'Hara]

Sorry so late with this week's entry. There was a christening and a birthday, for the same little girl! There was a BBQ with a chance of showers and tornadoes. But while the hot winds were blowing and a few drops came down, it eventually turned out pretty nice.

SYNOPSIS: Spencer, a CIA assassin starts questioning the value of his targets and yearns for a quieter suburban life. Meeting a fetching Jen in Nice, Italy, he finishes his final job and starts a relationship with Jen, eventually marrying. Soon their suburban life is upset when Spencer is approached by his old handler for a new job, as well as finding out their neighbors and co-workers may be assassins contracted to kill him.

Part romantic comedy, part actioner, "Killers" is cut from the same cloth as "True Lies". But where we see Arnold and Jamie Lee in the depths of their marriage with Arnold still active in the trade, "Killers" starts with Ashton with a hesitant last mission after meeting and falling for the safe Katherine, then a flash forward to their simple suburban married life three years later. Where "True Lies" was the most expensive move ever made when it hit theaters, "Killers" had a sub $100 million production cost. It seems that I am reaching for some comparison between the films, and that is because other than being of the same sub-genre, that is where the similarities end.

There are a few laughs from Heigl as Jen who married the perfect man, then finds out that Spencer, played by Kutcher, is a former CIA contract killer, and finds out that everyone suddenly seems to be out to kill him. Ashton brings his typical semi-bumbling humor to bear, when he is not reverting and relying on his black-ops training to save his bacon from the neighbors and friends that seem to want to "retire" him. and some of the sleepers suddenly activated are pretty funny, notably Rob Riggle as Spencer's co-worker Henry. Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara are a fine couple of parents to Jen, especially O'Hara as creative boozer Mrs. Kornfeldt.

The action part of the film is mostly comprised of car chases, hand-to-hand combat and various caliber weapons. While the sleeper contract killers coming out of the woodwork keeps Spencer and Jen running and gunning, the mastermind behind the deployment of arms seemed to become a little too apparent to me simply based on one plot clue and the simple fact that most of the characters on the call sheet were already part of the killing crew.

The film works well enough to be a Saturday distraction, and fans of Heigl and Kutcher will probably like it even more. Otherwise, the storyline has been done bigger and better.

Worth: Matinee