'Bandits? provides Hollywood treatment of 'buddy? film

"Bandits"

Directed by: Barry Levinson

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

Rated: PG-13

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Lowest common denominator

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.

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

"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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Borders on finesse

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

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

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

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."

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."

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.

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.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)