'Bandits? provides Hollywood treatment of 'buddy? film

|tab|

"Bandits"|ret||ret||tab|

Directed by: Barry Levinson|ret||ret||tab|

Starring: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Troy Garrity|ret||ret||tab|

Rated: PG-13|ret||ret||tab|

Director Barry Levinson's latest film "Bandits" does for the caper/buddy film what "Serendipity" (the subject of last week's Intermission) does for the romantic comedy. |ret||ret||tab|

It serves up a heaping helping of Hollywood hoopla that will appeal to a very broad audience.|ret||ret||tab|

I enjoyed the movie a lot at the time but, and I find this a common thread throughout Levinson's body of work, the more I think about it, the less I care.|ret||ret||tab|

Levinson's first film, "Diner," is still my favorite. It was a great "little" film in the "teens coming of age" genre, but it was so much more authentic than similar films from that time period. |ret||ret||tab|

After the success of "Diner," Levinson went on to commercial success with movies such as "Rainman," "Good Mor-ning Vietnam" and "Tin Men." All of them were commercial hits but I just never got emotionally involved in any of them. |ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

Lowest common denominator|ret||ret||tab|

Much like director Robert Zemeckis (the "Back to the Future" franchise, etc.) Levinson has always seemed to be a director who goes for the lowest common denominator and then waits for the box office payday. |ret||ret||tab|

This approach is fine, and his films are always well-crafted, but he always leaves me wanting something more.|ret||ret||tab|

"Bandits," for me, is the best thing he's done since "Diner," and it will surely be one of the highest grossing films of 2001. |ret||ret||tab|

The cast, led by Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett an actress on the verge of becoming a new millennium icon is absolutely perfect. |ret||ret||tab|

In addition, the story, written by Harley Peyton, who scripted several episodes of "Twin Peaks," is founded on a great premise. |ret||ret||tab|

But when all is said and done, "Bandits" is a film that, as a whole, is somewhat less than the sum of its parts.|ret||ret||tab|

Willis plays Joe Blake, a convict whose character pays homage to Paul Newman's Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy. |ret||ret||tab|

Thornton is this film's Sundance Kid as Terry Collins, Blake's hypochondriac inmate buddy. Anyone who has read interviews with Thornton already knows what a strange guy he seems to be. |ret||ret||tab|

Levinson perfectly cast the role here. Terry incorporates a number of the actor's phobias (fear of antiques, fear of black-and-white films) into his persona.|ret||ret||tab|

"Bandits" opens with a flashback scene of an exploit TV show's story about the deaths of the "Sleepover Bandits." |ret||ret||tab|

When we cut to the present, we see Joe and Terry making an impromptu escape from jail and, out of necessity, robbing their first bank.|ret||ret||tab|

Terry (who seems to be the brains of the bunch) reasons out a method of operation. |ret||ret||tab|

They will find where the manager of a bank lives, show up at his house and escort him to the bank the next morning. |ret||ret||tab|

Always waiting on the street is Joe's cousin, Harvey, driving the getaway car. Harvey's dream is to become a Hol-lywood stuntman, and this fact actually works itself into the final act of the film.|ret||ret||tab|

Along the way of the robberies, Terry is mowed down by a disgruntled housewife named Kate. |ret||ret||tab|

Her life is in such a tumble that she welcomes becoming part of the Sleep-over Bandits' gang. Sleep over she does, with both Terry and Joe, adding another twist to the mix. |ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

Borders on finesse|ret||ret||tab|

Levinson borders on finesse here as he shows Kate's husband on an "America's Most Wanted" type of show, appealing to the kidnappers. |ret||ret||tab|

He informs her (and them) that he'll be leaving for Spain, but they can "get ahold of his people." |ret||ret||tab|

A love triangle ensues, and the prerequisite twists and turns are all here. |ret||ret||tab|

While heist films (such as "Reservoir Dogs") can be hilarious at times and tragically violent at others, Levinson eschews any dramatic license here and goes totally "Hollywood." |ret||ret||tab|

For a mainstream, big-budget production, "Bandits" fills the bill. For my money though, I'd rather spend the time watching "Reservoir Dogs," "Dog Day Afternoon" or "Snatch."|ret||ret||tab|

While on the subject of films titled "Bandits," let me recommend one that came out in 1997 and is now available at your local rental outlet. |ret||ret||tab|

Instead of bankrobbers, this German movie features four female inmates who form a rock band, break out of prison and become international superstars. It's a fun movie.|ret||ret||tab|

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)[[In-content Ad]]