Flypaper
Two sets of crooks and one reluctant hero square off in this blend of comedy and action. Tripp (Patrick Dempsey) has been trying to catch the eye of pretty bank teller Kaitlin (Ashley Judd), and he thinks he's come up with just the thing to get him noticed -- he shows up just as the bank is about to close for the day and asks her to break a hundred dollar bill into loose change. But Tripp's attempt to meet cute goes wrong when two different sets of thieves invade the bank at the same time. Three are savvy criminals (Mekhi Phifer, Matt Ryan and John Ventimiglia) who have carefully worked out a plan for clearing out the vault, while the other two (Tim Blake Nelson and Pruitt Taylor Vance) are half-bright rednecks who intend to crack open the ATM machines and take the cash inside. Before long, both teams of crooks are trapped in the bank and find themselves constantly in each others way, while Tripp is trying to find a way to protect Kaitlin and himself while foiling the robbers, though the fact he's delusional and has stopped taking his medication is making things rather complicated. Flypaper was written by Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, who penned the script years before they enjoyed their commercial breakthrough with The Hangover. more..
Director: Rob Minkoff
Starring: Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd,Tim Blake Nelson,Mekhi Phifer, Pruitt Taylor Vince
One thought that occurred to me while pacing myself through Flypaper: With the economy being what it is, will there be a rash of bank robbery movies?
Strenuous and just fitfully amusing.
Given a bit of breathing room in the breathless script, Dempsey and Judd might have been able to develop some convincing chemistry, but relationship dynamics get squeezed out by relentless plotting.
Full of indie mannerisms - compulsive swearing, jokey violence, quirk-laden characters - Flypaper can't quite manage to find a style or a comic groove of its own.
Everything and everyone acts as cogs in a relentless plot machine that keeps twisting and twisting like an annoying little gizmo on Christmas morning.
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