One for the Money (D or 1/4 stars)
OK, by now, if you've ever read any of my reviews of films with Katherine Heigl in it, then you know that I kinda can't stand her. And 'One for the Money' (based on a popular book & directed by Julie Anne Robinson) does not change that sentiment. Stephanie Plum (Heigl), 30 yrs. old, newly-divorced, laid off from Macy's, & out of $$, turns in desperation to her slimy cousin Vinnie, of Vinnie's Bail Bonds, for a job in Trenton, NJ. Desperate for cash, and having no training or skills (yet), she becomes a bail enforcement agent, chasing after Vinnie's highest stakes bail jumper: Joe Morelli (Jason O'Mara ... yes, the Irishman is playing Italian), a former local cop who is wanted for murder, who also happened to break Stephanie's heart back in high school {of course}.
Throughout the film, Stephanie also must deal with her meddling family (including granny, played by Debbie Reynolds), a hooker-with-a-heart (Sherri Shepherd), a tendency to witnesses deaths, & lessons in bounty hunting from the handsome & enigmatic Ranger (Daniel Sunjata). When she finally catches up to Joe Morelli, she realizes that the case against him doesn't add up; and she is swept up in a whirlwind of murder, deceit, and even rekindled romance. Gag me.
I guess I'll never learn. Katherine Heigl films (of the last 4 yrs. or so) stink. But then, without her, I wouldn't have bad films to write about, haha. 'One for the Money' is just a pitiful, pitiful movie. How these films get green lit is beyond me. The direction/writing is nil. The dialogue is fairly awful. Any drama is static. There is very little humor. The photography/sets/set pieces are ugly. The characters are caricatures. I don't know what Debbie Reynolds thought she was doing in this. She comes across as a Betty White wannabe. Sherri Shepherd was an embarrassment as the hooker. As Stephanie, Katherine Heigl is irksome, charmless, forgettable, & unbelievable in the role. When I say 'unbelievable', I literally mean 'false'. You don't believe that she - in these scenarios - would exist in reality.
Her "romance" with Joe Morelli, the Italian cop, is laughable. And the fact that a very Irish actor is even playing a stereotypical New Jersey Italian guy is hysterical to me. I mean, come on! Now, there are some stolen moments throughout the film that either made me crack a grin or forget my troubles - which is why I'm giving this a D and not an F. But yeah, 'One for the Money' is just a tired, dull, amateurish movie from beginning to end. I'm almost starting to feel bad for the Heigl that her star persona (which I never liked anyway) can't enliven the most horrid of scripts, either. Well, no, I don't really feel bad for her.
Throughout the film, Stephanie also must deal with her meddling family (including granny, played by Debbie Reynolds), a hooker-with-a-heart (Sherri Shepherd), a tendency to witnesses deaths, & lessons in bounty hunting from the handsome & enigmatic Ranger (Daniel Sunjata). When she finally catches up to Joe Morelli, she realizes that the case against him doesn't add up; and she is swept up in a whirlwind of murder, deceit, and even rekindled romance. Gag me.
I guess I'll never learn. Katherine Heigl films (of the last 4 yrs. or so) stink. But then, without her, I wouldn't have bad films to write about, haha. 'One for the Money' is just a pitiful, pitiful movie. How these films get green lit is beyond me. The direction/writing is nil. The dialogue is fairly awful. Any drama is static. There is very little humor. The photography/sets/set pieces are ugly. The characters are caricatures. I don't know what Debbie Reynolds thought she was doing in this. She comes across as a Betty White wannabe. Sherri Shepherd was an embarrassment as the hooker. As Stephanie, Katherine Heigl is irksome, charmless, forgettable, & unbelievable in the role. When I say 'unbelievable', I literally mean 'false'. You don't believe that she - in these scenarios - would exist in reality.
Her "romance" with Joe Morelli, the Italian cop, is laughable. And the fact that a very Irish actor is even playing a stereotypical New Jersey Italian guy is hysterical to me. I mean, come on! Now, there are some stolen moments throughout the film that either made me crack a grin or forget my troubles - which is why I'm giving this a D and not an F. But yeah, 'One for the Money' is just a tired, dull, amateurish movie from beginning to end. I'm almost starting to feel bad for the Heigl that her star persona (which I never liked anyway) can't enliven the most horrid of scripts, either. Well, no, I don't really feel bad for her.