Masterminds (2016)

Crappy film

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

With this cast, you can imagine that there's not a serious moment in the entire film. And, there isn't.

The film is based on a true story of an odd group of characters who robbed Loomis Fargo, the biggest bank heist in American history. The film centers on David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis) who was sweet talked into the robbery by Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig). Steven Eugene Chambers (Owen Wilson) was the mastermind behind the robbery and failed to lay low and leave town.The film was a fairly decent comedy, even without the factor being based on an actual event. Zach plays a mild mannered character reminding me of Jack Black as Bernie. Good for a laugh.Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity. Sexual innuendo, nothing explicit or overtly vulgar, such as: "I don't want him to finger me" type of stuff.

Masterminds is one of those rare comedies that tackles a shocking true story that made national news headlines, and blends it in with goofy PG-13-esque humor. The brain behind this comedic endeavor happens to be no other than Jared Hess, the man behind such comedies like 'Napoleon Dynamite', 'Nacho Libre', and the critically roasted 'Gentlemen Broncos'. So what is the big story? It is the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery which scored the headlines as to earning the title "the biggest bank robbery in American history". It is both a shocking and complex crime committed by wide cast of individuals. Now whether or not this movie succeeds on delivering the laughs and fun of this astonishing lies the big question. Boasting a talented comedic cast, this movie does not fail to spare some good laughs here and there, but sporadically falls flat in other places. The hit-and-miss ratio in the joke department is not too high, but certainly not low enough to make it a comedic bore. Set in 1997, this film follows Dave Ghantt (played by Zach Galifianakis), a 36-year old man working at mundane job as a guardsman for the Loomis Fargo bank. When he is convinced by his crush Kelly (played by Kristin Wiig) to pull an seemingly impossible task of robbing $17,000 in cash, he unexpectedly finds himself double-crossed by one of his accomplices Steve Chambers (played by Owen Wilson) who threatens to turn him in to the FBI. Upon fleeing to Mexico, Dave is faced with a dangerous encounter with a hit-man named Dave McKinney (played by Jason Sudeikis) who Steve hires to kill. There is only so much you can with a comedy picture starring a vast range of actors who each have had their fair share of satisfying comedic endeavors in the past. The most difficult task Jared Hess takes on here is effectively executing its true-story-based plot in a laugh-evoking manner while avoiding the restraints of its complexity. For the most part, he somewhat succeeds. But it doesn't quite make up for the occasional botched attempts at humor, especially when its peddling on butt jokes and slapstick humor. After all, everyone in the cast is only giving much to do with a script that places a limit on their comedic muscles. Boarding the center role is Zach Galifianakis who serves as the driving force of the story. Resorting to his "guy with an absent mind" typecast, his character maintains roughly the same level of stupidity as his character Alan from the 'The Hangover' trilogy, only it is less funny here. Of course, he does manage to score just a few good laughs every once a while. But arguably the biggest show stealer is Jason Sudeikis who lands the most laughs out of everyone in the cast. His chemistry with Galifianakis is surprisingly effective, even more than Galifianakis's glamor with Kristin Wiig and Owen Wilson (who is somehow never funny throughout the entire picture). The heist scene which marks the turning plot of the plot is finely executed and provides a good laugh or two. If you go in expecting something of car crashes and shootouts to add to the energy, you will certainly set yourself up for disappointment, although there is one major action sequence late in the film.Masterminds is a sporadically funny caper comedy with just a fair amount of clever and wit, but not enough a worth while picture. There are good attempts at laughs handed from such an appealing comedic cast, particularly Jason Sudeikis. By the end, the film is nothing remarkable nor does hit the high points of any of the cast members' careers.

Jared Hess's "Masterminds" is the sort of movie that you'll appreciate if you accept low humor. I do. It might be a surprise to learn that the movie is based on a true story (the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery). I'm sure that a lot of what the movie shows is added for comic relief, and to let the cast members do their stuff. Even so, they lay everything out quite well, as the scheme's main man sets up the armored car driver as a patsy.While Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig are the top-billed stars, some of the best lines come from Leslie Jones (if she's in a movie, you know that it's gonna be good). As expected, Kate McKinnon and Jason Sudeikis also turn in good performances. Basically, the combination of the heist, the snappy dialogue, and the occasional gross-out humor makes for one funny movie. Betcha never thought that an Enya song would get used this way! It's also gotten noted that three of the four modern Ghostbusters star in this movie. 2016's "Ghostbusters" is a criminally underrated movie. It's hard to believe that there are people who call it one of the worst movies ever while still regarding as masterpieces the obnoxious "Everyone Says I Love You", the vacuous "Eyes Wide Shut", and the pointless "Man on the Moon".