One for the Money
Rated PG-13
1 Hour 46 Minutes
Starring:
Katherine Heigl
Jason O'Mara
Daniel Sunjata
John Leguizamo
My Grade:
C-
To start, yes, I have read the novel One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. A few times. The first time was many many years ago. I have not read a ton of books in my life, but One for the Money is by far one of the best I have read and certainly one of the most funny. Evanovich is perfect at writing very dry, crisp, and to the point humor that could have any reader crying from laughter. Stephanie Plums inner thoughts are down right hilarious. The story is of a woman from the burgs in Jersey, Stephanie Plum, down on her luck and just lost her job as a lingerie saleswoman. So she hits up her cousin Vinnie (no, not THAT cousin Vinny) who happens to work as a bail bondsman. One thing leads to another and she starts working for him as bounty hunter, picking up FTA's (Failed to Appear). Stephanie is tough, but still a girly girl and so she has her work cut out for her...and her first skip...Joe Morelli. A cop accused of murder, who also happens to the man who took her virginity back in high school and never called back...so she hit him with her fathers car. Anyway...that's what our story is.
It took a very long time for this film to come about, and there was lots of speculation from the fans as to who the perfect cast would be. Do we have the perfect cast? In my opinion...no. I am not a fan of Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up), and she was the last person I would have picked to play Stephanie. She is supposed to be sarcastic and witty, and not this light hearted girl. Heigl's performance tarnished the character, but she wasn't AS bad as I thought. Still though, not a good portrayal. Daniel Sunjata as Ranger? Also no. Ranger is a quiet, stealthy, tough guy in the book. In the movie, he almost seems willing and happy and jokes around with Stephanie. He did not come off as tough or intimidating. Sherri Sheppard as Lula? Nope. Lula is absolutely crazy hysterical in the book, but she doesn't even come remotely close in the film. The only major character that seems fitting is Jason O'Mara (Terra Nova) as Joe. Not perfect, but he's the only one that kind of resembles the character from the novel. Grandma Mazur was not old or senile enough. Benito Ramirez is supposed to be absolutely terrifying...but he's in maybe 3 scenes and speaks all but 5 lines the whole movie (he was a much larger and much scarier character in the book). Jimmy Alpha is a lawyer in the book, in this he's a boxing manager.
OK, so the characters were basically a big swing and miss. How about the overall story? I'd say the movie came out 75% close to staying loyal to the book. Obviously, time constraints, so had to eliminate certain side plots and also speed up the main story. And they REALLY sped it up. The first 3 or 4 chapters of the book was probably glazed over or rushed through in the first 5 minutes of the movie. The whole movie was completely rushed. There was no time to really get to know Stephanie Plum or Joe Morelli. No real introduction, so right off the bat, as a movie goer, you don't get a chance to like these people. The altered some characters names and updated it for present day situations. Little details like that are expected, and OK. The screenplay could have used some serious TLC though. Because like I said, it was about 75% accurate, but that other 25%...was pretty bad.
The director of the film, well, should not have directed this film. The whole movie was pieced together so sloppily. It jumped all over the place and the story was rushed and it never gave you a chance to really get what was going on (if you had never read the book) or even care. She didn't know how to handle these characters and bring them from book to screen. There are a LOT of very unique characters in the Stephanie Plum novels, but none of the characters in the film came off that way. They were all very standard film characters. The whole movie was standard and kind of bland. The director didn't do a damn thing to wow anyone or shock anyone (and the book has plenty of shocking moments and dialog). It was as if she toned down the book, way to much. There was none of that crisp humor at all. None of Stephanie's narrating was even close to her narrating in the book. I barely laughed, and nor did the packed crowd at the theater. The best part of the book series is it's sense of humor. It just did not translate over. Which is a shame.
I really wanted to love this movie, despite the critics absolutely panning the hell out of it. But truth is, this movie was a disappointing mess. Poor casting choices, a very weak screenplay and a really bad choice of director almost solidifies the fact that we won't be seeing "Two for the Dough" in theaters any time soon. But who knows, if it does well money wise, they just might green-light it. IF "Two for the Dough" does get made, I hope the first film acts as a "what not to do" example. Hire a new director, hell, hire a new Stephanie. Kick up the budget a bit, and make it darker and funnier like it was supposed to be. It's one reboot I would actually love to see happen. Honestly though, there are 18 Stephanie Plum books, this would probably work much better as a TV series.
You will notice, despite my barrage of negativity, that I still gave the movie a C-. Well, being a fan of the book, I cannot say I hated the movie. I didn't care for it, no. But I appreciate the book so much, that I found things in the film that I did enjoy. Make no mistake though, if I had never read the book and I saw this movie...it would easily be one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
And I'm really disappointed Stephanie never wolfed down those hamster treats and they never mentioned Vinnie and the duck incident.....
It took a very long time for this film to come about, and there was lots of speculation from the fans as to who the perfect cast would be. Do we have the perfect cast? In my opinion...no. I am not a fan of Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up), and she was the last person I would have picked to play Stephanie. She is supposed to be sarcastic and witty, and not this light hearted girl. Heigl's performance tarnished the character, but she wasn't AS bad as I thought. Still though, not a good portrayal. Daniel Sunjata as Ranger? Also no. Ranger is a quiet, stealthy, tough guy in the book. In the movie, he almost seems willing and happy and jokes around with Stephanie. He did not come off as tough or intimidating. Sherri Sheppard as Lula? Nope. Lula is absolutely crazy hysterical in the book, but she doesn't even come remotely close in the film. The only major character that seems fitting is Jason O'Mara (Terra Nova) as Joe. Not perfect, but he's the only one that kind of resembles the character from the novel. Grandma Mazur was not old or senile enough. Benito Ramirez is supposed to be absolutely terrifying...but he's in maybe 3 scenes and speaks all but 5 lines the whole movie (he was a much larger and much scarier character in the book). Jimmy Alpha is a lawyer in the book, in this he's a boxing manager.
OK, so the characters were basically a big swing and miss. How about the overall story? I'd say the movie came out 75% close to staying loyal to the book. Obviously, time constraints, so had to eliminate certain side plots and also speed up the main story. And they REALLY sped it up. The first 3 or 4 chapters of the book was probably glazed over or rushed through in the first 5 minutes of the movie. The whole movie was completely rushed. There was no time to really get to know Stephanie Plum or Joe Morelli. No real introduction, so right off the bat, as a movie goer, you don't get a chance to like these people. The altered some characters names and updated it for present day situations. Little details like that are expected, and OK. The screenplay could have used some serious TLC though. Because like I said, it was about 75% accurate, but that other 25%...was pretty bad.
I really wanted to love this movie, despite the critics absolutely panning the hell out of it. But truth is, this movie was a disappointing mess. Poor casting choices, a very weak screenplay and a really bad choice of director almost solidifies the fact that we won't be seeing "Two for the Dough" in theaters any time soon. But who knows, if it does well money wise, they just might green-light it. IF "Two for the Dough" does get made, I hope the first film acts as a "what not to do" example. Hire a new director, hell, hire a new Stephanie. Kick up the budget a bit, and make it darker and funnier like it was supposed to be. It's one reboot I would actually love to see happen. Honestly though, there are 18 Stephanie Plum books, this would probably work much better as a TV series.
You will notice, despite my barrage of negativity, that I still gave the movie a C-. Well, being a fan of the book, I cannot say I hated the movie. I didn't care for it, no. But I appreciate the book so much, that I found things in the film that I did enjoy. Make no mistake though, if I had never read the book and I saw this movie...it would easily be one of the worst movies I've ever seen.
And I'm really disappointed Stephanie never wolfed down those hamster treats and they never mentioned Vinnie and the duck incident.....
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