Flypaper is the forgotten bank robbery comedy of the summer that went under the radar, but was featured as an official selection for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The movie shines with an unlikely, yet well-matched ensemble cast that’s full of laughs that you‘ll want to share with friends. Written by the comedic forces behind The Hangover, John Lucas and Scott Moore present a story about two bank robberies that happen simultaneously by a couple of unwitting ATM robbers and trio of professional criminals who are going after the vault.
Directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King), the films stars Patrick Dempsey (Grey‘s Anatomy) as Tripp, Ashley Judd (Dolphin Tale) as Kaitlin, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Beautiful Girls), Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk), Jeffrey Tambor (The Hangover) as Gordon Blythe, Mekhi Phifer (8 Mile), John Ventimiglia (The Sopranos), Octavia Spencer (The Help) as Madge, Curtis Armstrong (Dan vs.), Rob Huebel (Childrens Hospital), Adrian Martinez (It‘s Kind Of A Funny Story), and Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior).
The movie follows multiple storylines, starting with Tripp who shows off his OCD tendencies early on while hitting on engaged bank teller, Kaitlin. Here, the chemistry between Dempsey and Judd is very entertaining, setting up the tone for the whole movie which is about people of all walks of life finding ways to get along in the most unusual of ways and circumstances. Dempsey proves that he’s more than his small-screen McDreamy persona on the hit medical drama, especially against Judd’s seemingly innocent quick wit. Without their banter, the scenes between the hostages throughout the film would have been underwhelming.
Meanwhile, the bank gets robbed at the same time by two polar opposite groups of criminals, however the dynamic of personalities between them is hilarious. Phifer leads Ventimiglia and Ryan who are very experienced in their profession, armed with heavy artillery, face masks, and no-nonsense commands, whereas Nelson and Vince are #670-something ATM robbers on America’s Most Wanted list, under the names Peanut Butter and Jelly, respectively.
Other bank employees include Spencer’s Madge, who I did not think had enough screen time, Martinez as the pervert security guard, Armstrong as the bank’s go-to computer security guy, Huebel as a questionably effeminate loan officer, and Tambor is their branch manager with bladder control issues.
There are moments in the film where I caught myself saying, “Oh come on! That would never happen!” and then I remembered that this is after all, a movie. However, having some experience working at a financial institution, I saw some holes in the system in which the bank operates, but the question kept coming up of how these two groups of bank robbers came to hit up the same bank at the same time, which made the whole plot a little more engrossing.
The answer to this comes to light thanks to the obsessive tendencies of Tripp because he is held in the bank for so long without the proper medication that would curb his enthusiastic rants about counting and examining the details, especially when one mysterious customer is targeted and killed at the start of the robbery / shoot-out.
What’s so interesting about this DVD, aside from the humor in the film itself, are the special features which contain in-depth interviews with many members of the ensemble-driven crime comedy. As it turns out, Dempsey was offered this role way before The Hangover ever became a hit in 2009 and had been waiting through a change in directors to finally make the low-budget movie in Baton Rouge.
I wouldn’t say that this is the best bank heist comedy of all time, but it makes for a decent way to gets some laughs with a nice blend of intelligent and slapstick humor. It was refreshing to see Dempsey in a grittier role after romantic comedies like Enchanted and Maid of Honor. Working opposite Judd also helped, making the pair’s attraction pretty irresistible to watch. Character actors Vince and Nelson are well-matched as the good-natured criminals who can’t seem to get the job done right.
If I give this movie another viewing or two, I’ll probably find new parts to laugh at every time. The writing is on par and pace keeps up with all the action. Flypaper is now available on DVD from IFC!
My rating: 7/10.
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