Did you ever buy a movie because somebody told you it was good, or funny? Well, I did...but not before I at least read the package "hype." Not that I doubted the person who told me about the film, it's just that my mother raised me that way, you know, judge for yourself.
Would they admit on said package if the movie really stunk on ice? Not likely! I mean, hey, every gallon of paint on the store shelves says it covers in one-coat, right? But, suppose this movie has some pretty high-caliber stars in it; say Bruce Willis, maybe Billy Bob Thornton, and how about Cate Blanchett? And, what if the hype said it was "Flat-out funny!" And, a hilarious action-comedy...makes all the right moves...great chemistry...great one liners...expert direction, and so on? Could you trust those kudos? Well, that's what I heard about "Bandits", and I'm here to tell you that every word is gospel truth!
I laughed 'til I cried! I was laughing so hard at one point that soda came out of my nose and I wasn't drinking any! "Bandits" is a riot...flat-out! It's about two totally different, guys, sort of the Odd Couple of prison inmates, who pull a spur-of-the-moment prison break in a cement truck!
The break succeeds in spite of their slap dash effort. Once out and free, they devise an unlikely scheme for robbing banks that has them, thereafter, known as the "sleep over bandits." Part of the charm of these two-criminals is that they become personally involved with everyone they rob! In fact, Joe, (Willis) is a pretty good lay psychologist, and while Terry, (Thornton) is sort of the brains of the duo, he's a hopeless hypochondriac that constantly thinks he's contracted everything from brain tumors to vaginitis! In fact, that particular feminine disorder comes in handy during one robbery!
They're doing pretty good as bank robbers through sheer blind luck, when they meet a sexy, eccentric housewife named Kate, (Blanchett) who's marriage isn't doing as well as she'd thought. Kate goes from hostage to coconspirator, and becomes romantically involved with both men, and can't decided which one she'll chose, insisting she wants them both!
There's a small sub story that's very charming, involving the Hollywood would be stuntman, Harvey (Troy Garity) that acts as the robbers "front man" and the vision of a blond hitchhiker he spies during a robbery. The girl seems to be on the same road as the robbers in this very funny road picture, popping up again and again until we realize along with Harvey, that fate is at work here.
You wont be able to help cheering for these nice/bad guys as they set about amassing the cash to open their dream bar in Mexico, until the surprise-twist ending!
The DVD has an alternate ending, a making of featurette and several deleted scenes that you'll find left one character's role completely on the cutting room floor, poor girl! "Bandits" is an action-comedy (PG-13) with lots of warm, fuzzy moments, and you are going to want to see it again, trust me!
