Bandits (2001) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/
"Mexico? You know I have sanitation issues!"
Starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett. Rated PG-13.
Bandits is a fun, uninhibited little comedy, with a plot that's a red herring for the bizarre wit of its dialogue. It also offers the rare sight of Billy Bob Thornton aping Woody Allen, as well as Cate Blanchett doing physical comedy. How great to see a mainstream film that revels in writing and little character moments rather than trying to overwhelm us with overwrought action and story. Its attempts at "heart" and any other form of significance are quickly and cruelly dashed, but there are images here that are so strange, I won't soon forget them.
The film was directed by Barry Levinson, a remarkably versatile director who has experimented with nearly every genre one could imagine and his results have ranged from abominable to incredible. Here, he's assembled two great character actors and one great leading man and sticks them into a plot that compensates for its conventionality with sublime ridiculousness. There's also an oddball structure: Bandits begins with what seems to be the title characters' last crime, then fast forwards to a reality crime show where it is announced that the "Sleepover Bandits" died in a shootout immediately following it.
The next scene goes back to the beginning, as Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) escape from prison by hijacking a cement truck and driving it through numerous chain-link fences. After they're sure that they have lost their pursuers, Joe proceeds to rob a bank with a magic marker. Later, as they're stealing new clothes from a random house, Terry comes up with the perfect bank robbery: do it early in the morning, with the full cooperation of the bank manager whom they kidnapped the night before.
Back up. To explain my fascination with this seemingly formulaic heist flick, I need to describe the personalities of the two partners-in-crime. Joe is actually a fairly "regular" (in the Hollywood sense) criminal: fast-thinking, charming, charismatic and cocky. But Terry, ooooh boy. He's intelligent and pragmatic, but his positive qualities are far outshadowed by his unbelievable neurosis. One of his phobias is antique furniture, and he doesn't want to escape to Mexico because of "sanitation issues."
If it seems impossible for Blanchett to somehow wedge her way into this story, it is, which is why Levinson, consistent with the tone of the rest of the script, gives her a completely non sequitur entrance before actually integrating her with our protagonists. She plays a neglected housewife who accidentally winds up tagging along with our sleepover bandits and falls in love with both of them. I don't think I need to mention (but I will anyway) that she is the source of all of their problems.
Certain scenes here are pure comedic gold. The problem with reviewing the film is that it is impossible to convey the humor, or even the spirit, of those scenes in words. Suffice it to say that while little here would be funny if taken out of context, seeing Blanchett's character try to scare Terry out of a sneezing fit is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time.
It's strange, at first, to see the A-list stars and director devote their time to what is doubtlessly an exercise in frivolity. Lately it becomes clear: rarely has so much talent been dedicated to writing such frivolity. Bandits is absurd, rambling, and very, very funny.
Grade: B
Up Next: Together
©2001 Eugene Novikov
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