REVIEW: One For The Money

A film title is probably one of the most important first impressions that an audience can get. It's key in getting the mood right but also being catchy enough for them to remember it.

I'll never forget the absolute shock and awe at how terrible the film title was for Horrible Bosses the first time I saw the trailer in the cinema. It's just one of the most redundant film titles I think I have ever come across... It just did nothing for me. It sounded awkward and so obvious in your face, that I was insulted that it didn't even try to be clever with a pun or maybe even a little rhyme in it's title.

No. The filmmakers just decided to make a film about bosses who were horrible called, Horrible Bosses.

I thought I would never come across such an awful title, until I saw One For The Money. Never have I ever seen a film with such an apt title. Katherine Heigl and the rest of the cast and crew involved in this film were definitely just in it for the money.

The film is based on the books of the same name by Janet Evanovich. The film follows Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) who has recently split up from her partner, lost her apartment and has her car towed away (all within the first five minutes of the film!) So, with desperation she takes a job at her cousin's bail-bond business where she works alongside Ranger (Daniel Sunjata), a more experienced man who teaches her how to cuff a man and shoot her gun. Plum's first job assignment is to go after ex-policeman and ex-partner, Joe Morelli (Jason O'Mara) for the $50,000 reward and to get herself back on track. However, her old feelings for Morelli soon creep in and interfere with her chances of getting her money.

One of the first problems with the film yet again lies within the genre that it chooses. I'm starting to have big issues with genre - either the film follows the genre rules too rigidly or it doesn't seem to follow the "promises" of it's genre enough - the film falls into the latter.

Is it a romantic comedy? No, not really because Plum and Morelli never really share a proper intimate moment together. He tricks her into thinking he is, so he can cuff Plum to her own shower rail and later she tricks him, so she can trap him inside a truck. However, there is never really a key moment that shows Morelli and Plum are still attracted to each other.

So, is it an action film? No. Definitely not. Action is hinted at, especially when Plum starts hanging out with Ranger and is seen being trained using her gun, but the film never really delivers on fully action-packed sequences. It's almost like if we got the Rocky-esque training montage without the final boxing match, so to speak. It was just disappointing!

The second major flaw with the film was the casting of Katherine Heigl. I normally like her in the sweet and fluffy roles that she usually takes. But, this time Heigl was definitely just in it for the money and gave a very run-of-the-mill performance to boot. She never really sold it that her character was still attracted to Morelli. She never really sold the character arc that Plum went from bumbling bail-bond officer to gun-toting badass. She just never really went for anything. Her acting was so pedestrian that I was sitting there thinking that even I could have tried to do a better job and I think my acting is terrible.

Now I know we all have bad days at work. Believe me, I have plenty of them. It's just unfortunate that when actors and actresses have a bad day at work, it is recorded and then broadcast for thousands of people to see. I guess they get paid enough, so we shouldn't feel too sorry for them!

Finally, something that I did enjoy about the film was the inclusion of Lula (Sherrie Shephard) and Jackie (Ryan Michelle Bathe), the two hookers that Plum uses as informants to try and find Morelli. Some of their jokes were touching a little bit on the racist side (at one point I remember Bathe's character saying, "Why you telling that white lady everything?") Call me touchy for saying that's racist, but have it the other way around and I'm sure there would have been a few complaints. However, both Lula and Jackie provided some much needed laughs in this "comedy" film (was it a comedy?!) I found myself so invested in their small supporting roles, that when one of them was attacked and injured, I felt bad for them and wanted to make it through. Not really a good point to your film if your supporting actresses are actually more cared for than your main actress...

Overall, I wouldn't really bother with One For The Money again. It's a film that doesn't really know what it is, has a main actress who doesn't seem bothered to be in it and also a distinct lack of jokes. While there were a couple of laughs in there somewhere, it wasn't really enough to warrant you parting with a good eight pounds of your well-earned cash!

* 1/2 / *****