Bandits

#1 Cheap Bandits By TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT

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When first watching this movie, I found some of the bank robberies--though very slick and original--to be quite implausible. If the film wasn't as charming and likable, I'd probably have a difficult time suspending disbelief. But then I found out the story of the "Sleepover Bandits" was actually based on a real duo of bank robbers. Of course, this is nowhere close to a biopic and most of the story is obviously fiction, the concept of these two guys sleeping over the bank managers' houses and robbing their banks the next morning was based on truth. Why these managers didn't call the cops while the two guys weren't watching or why they didn't try to strangle the two guys in their sleep--I don't know. The truth really is stranger than fiction. But the bandits did have an interesting gimmick: they only robbed banks, since the money belonged to the government; they never snatched money from people's pockets. There's actually a scene in the movie in which they bust out of prison and rob a lady's car. Willis hands the lady her pocketbook and says, "Don't forget your pocketbook."

Bandits Overview

Chemistry and quirkiness--and a stellar cast--help make Barry Levinson's Bandits more than just another comedy about ill-matched outlaws. Levinson's deft touch in Rain Man is evident in the film's road-movie structure, which follows bank robbers Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) on a crime spree from Oregon to California. They're eventually joined by an aspiring stuntman and getaway driver (Troy Garity, son of Jane Fonda) and a neglected housewife (Cate Blanchett) who falls in love with both Joe and Terry after escaping her boring marriage. As scripted by Twin Peaks alumnus Harley Peyton, Bandits shifts from character comedy to crime thriller with reckless abandon, and the humor (particularly Terry's multiple neuroses) is occasionally forced and flat. Levinson compensates with offbeat moments of unexpected tenderness, allowing his cast to express depths of character not necessarily found in the script. A twist ending won't surprise attentive viewers, but it gives Bandits the extra kick it needs. --Jeff Shannon


Worthy for the main characters only.... - Born2Late - New York, USA
This film is pretty weak. The plot is very unrealistic as it plays out. What is somewhat entertaining, is Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, & Kate Blanchett. I paid 99 cents for a weekend rental special. It is worth that much, not more.