In the action comedy "Mad Money," financial advisor Jim Cramer (coincidentally played by an actor named Jim Cramer) commands a team of bulls to battle the evil bears in hopes of gaining control of the Stock Exchange. When the futures indicate it's going to be a grizzly scene, Cramer sets out to...what? Oh.
In the suburban comedy "Mad Money," three women, facing dire financial circumstances, decide to knock off the local shopping mall, well, not the entire mall, but a giant glass globe filled with swirling cash. Various obstacles stand in their way, however, the least of which is...huh? Really? You don't say. Honestly? There's a dollar sign in the title? How odd.
Let's try again. In the crime caper "Mad Money," that shares the name of Jimmy C's CNBC show and obviously has a heritage going back to the Jane Curtain/Susan Saint James/Jessica Lange film "How To Beat the High Co$t of Living" (1980), Katie Holmes plays whacky, Queen Latifah does her usual shtick, and Diane Keaton continues her shocking descent into a second career of bad and irritating performances.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, much like the film does. Director Callie Khouri -- working from scribe Glen Gers' rewriting of the 2001 TV movie "Hot Money" -- begins the proceedings in one of my least favorite ways, a scene from near the end of the film that's supposed to pique our interest.
In that, we see Ted Danson shredding and flushing money (apparently, his "Cheers'" residuals are just too plentiful), Latifah burning cash outdoors (as if hurriedly trying to start a barbecue), Holmes fleeing a camper (as if the Scientology police are on the way), and Keaton hopping a fence, trying to get away (presumably from the bad reviews she obviously knows are headed her way).
Obviously, something has gone wrong, some series of catalysts that have driven these people to such desperate and seemingly outrageous behavior. And thus we rewind back to the beginning of the tale. It turns out Danson's husband character to the former Annie Hall has been downsized and their house and lifestyle is about to be repossessed. Accordingly, Keaton's ends up taking a job at a Federal Reserve outpost where she learns, shock of all shocks, that they destroy old money that's been taken out of circulation.
Cue the light bulb over the head and sound of the cash register doing the ka-ching thing (yes, young readers, such devices once made mechanical rather than scanned beep sounds in the old days). Of course, a newly hired custodian might have a hard time taking out the trash (figuratively, that is).
Thus, she ends up convincing -- and rater easily at that -- Holmes' flighty cart pusher and Latifah's money shredder characters to become co-conspirators in committing grand larceny on a federal crime level. And rather than plot and discuss this matter where no one could possibly overhear their scheming, they do much of it -- often fairly loudly -- in the ladies room at work and a public bar.
Therein lies one of various faults that bedevil this film. The biggest and most obvious, however, is that the pic's attempts at humor are not only forced, but also not particularly funny. Then there's the fact that beyond Keaton and Danson's characters facing foreclosure and a move to a lower income tax level, the rest don't possess enough personal or financial motivation (or simple criminal malevolence or stupidity meets gullibility) to prod them into participating.
Without that, we don't ever buy into their behavior, and thus the film's plot thrust -- even if comedy-based -- just doesn't work. Even throwing in Stephen Root (brilliant long ago in "Office Space") as the eagle-eyed Reserve outpost guardian (thus putting the would-be criminals in perpetual jeopardy of being caught in the act) doesn't do much for the proceedings.
But it's Keaton's performance that stands out the most, but for all the wrong reasons. And that's not due to suddenly going from incredibly naive (wondering what sort of drugs she'd have to ingest when told she's going to have to take a drug test) to accomplished and greedy criminal. Instead, it's most everything regarding the way in which she plays the character. I know it's supposed to be funny that she looks guilty while trying to appear cool as a cuke, but she overplays it to such a degree that it's analogous to the old nails down the chalkboard experience.
From those good Woody Allen films and the "Godfather" pics to dreck like "Town & Country," "Because I Said So," and now this, the continued downhill slide in film and role choices and resultant acting for her is about the only role that will be remembered from this pic.
Other portrayals range from not as grating to okay, but none stand out to any extent to save this labored comedy. In fact, "Mad Money" will likely make discerning viewers feel that the title represents the flushing of their greenbacks down the proverbial John. What would Jimmy C say about that? "Boo"-yah indeed. The film rates as a 3 out of 10.
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