Today, if someone says the name “Katie Holmes,” it seems most likely that thoughts of a well-coiffed — and non-speaking — woman shopping in Los Angeles, holding a baby or being led down a red carpet, or Tom Cruise acting like a lunatic on Oprah’s couch, come to mind. The public seems to have almost forgotten that she used to be an actress, and that long ago, she even epitomized what was teenage angst on the iconic and ever-endearing television gem that was “Dawson’s Creek.”
However, in Holmes’ new film Mad Money, her first since becoming a mother and marrying a certain Mr. Cruise, she is able to immediately remind audiences why she does indeed deserve a seat at the movie-making table. Complimenting Holmes’ wonderful portrayal of the free-spirited and blissfully oblivious Jackie, equally strong performances by Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Ted Danson combine to create an offbeat yet hilarious caper-comedy.
The story begins when upper-middle-class housewife Bridget Cardigan, played by Keaton, is forced to take a cleaning job at the Federal Reserve Bank after her husband Don (Danson) loses his job due to outsourcing. After several months of work, Bridget formulates a plan to steal “worn-out” money, which is set to be destroyed, from the bank, enlisting the help of fellow Fed workers Jackie and Nina (played by Holmes and Queen Latifah).
From here, the story becomes a decidedly low-tech version of Ocean’s Eleven, in which the George Clooney character is a petite 50-something blonde woman. But even without the explosions, espionage and Brad Pitt, the film still manages to be a success. The rag-tag composition of the group of would-be criminals is incredibly interesting in its diversity. The three women making up the core group seem not only incredibly unlikely to become criminal masterminds, but more so, unlikely to become friends in the first place, making for conversations between the three which constitute comedy gold. Keaton’s character is always well-dressed (wearing her requisite string of pearls) and is the obsessively controlling brains of the operation, whereas Holmes is a hippie throwback who uses a walkman to dance through her workday and goes home to a trailer and meatpacking plant employee of a husband. Queen Latifah, on the other hand, is a hard-working single mother of two, who only begrudgingly joins the group after being convinced that she could use the money to help her sons. However, together, these three unlikely comrades create a dynamic band of women who play off each other expertly and whose individual strengths come together in the most wonderful of ways.
In a broader sense, the movie does carry a very strong message of female empowerment; it is one of the first “buddy movies” or caper-based films led entirely by women; however, it in no way tends toward militant feminism or alienation of its male characters. This expertly handled balancing act must be attributed to the fantastic direction of Callie Khouri, of Thelma & Louise fame. Furthermore, the script is well-crafted, containing many memorable one-liners from Keaton and Danson, as well as a fair amount of subtle commentary on our economy today. It is also nice to see both Queen Latifah and Holmes playing roles outside of their normal repertoire and conquering both verbal and physical comedy masterfully. Although Keaton does play a role reminiscent of some of her previous films, she also pulls out a tour de force performance, as is her standard.
The film is also aided by wonderfully comedic supporting performances by “Saturday Night Live” alum Finesse Mitchell as an overly sexual security guard, Christopher McDonald and Meagen Fay as Bridget and Don’s perfectly waspish and nosy neighbors and Stephen Root as bank manager Mr. Glover, whose mantra, “Everyone, everywhere, every minute” is sure to have the audience laughing out loud in the theatre.
Although I had feared that most of the buzz surrounding Mad Money was coming from the reintroduction of the Stepford wife that is Katie Holmes back into the acting ring, I was pleasantly surprised by the final product of the film. It is neither too campy nor too serious, and its cast has a palpable chemistry that makes this movie a must-see.