Bandits (2001)

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer (WGA):

Harley Peyton (written by)

Release Date:

12 October 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Two's Company, Three's A Crime.

Plot:

Two bank robbers fall in love with the girl they've kidnapped.

Plot Keywords:

Bank Manager | Bored Housewife | Hypochondriac | Prison | Inmate

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Joseph 'Joe' Blake
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Terry Lee Collins
Cate Blanchett	...	Kate Wheeler
Troy Garity	...	Harvey 'Dog' Pollard
Brian F. O'Byrne	...	Darill Miller
Stacey Travis	...	Cloe Miller
Bobby Slayton	...	Darren Head
January Jones	...	Claire / Pink Boots
Azura Skye	...	Cheri
Peggy Miley	...	Mildred Kronenberg
William Converse-Roberts	...	Charles Wheeler
Richard Riehle	...	Larry Fife
Micole Mercurio	...	Sarah Fife
Scott Burkholder	...	Wildwood Policeman
Anthony Burch	...	Phil

Also Known As:

Outlaws (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content, language and violence.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15PG (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37636)

Filming Locations:

Bodega Bay, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Kate's license plate number is 290OKH.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Terry and Joe arrive at a bankers house and announce to the banker that they are going to rob his bank, the banker faints (or spontaneously falls asleep due to narcolepsy). You can see the corner of the mat that he falls on.

Quotes:

[Terry is at the drive-up window as the police pull up]
Policeman: Where's Dottie?
Terry: Who?
Policeman: The drive-up girl.
Terry: Oh, yes, Dottie. Of course. She's... sick.
Policeman: Sick with what?
Terry: Vaginitis. She's been suffering from an abnormal vaginal discharge. You know the common symptoms, a viscous fluid, usually associated with... uh... vaginitis.
[the police drive away looking embarrassed]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Crimen ferpecto (2004)

Soundtrack:

Wildfire

Three class performances, an original plot and a humorous script make for one entertaining film

Bandits is an interesting original film about two outlaws, Joe Blake and Terry Collins (Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton) whom, after escaping from prison decide to continue their bank robbing spree but with a different tactic. They kidnap the bank manager,take him to work the following morning and get him to open the vault without the complications of tellers and customers. This works successfully until they run into Kate (played to perfection by Cate Blanchett in an overlooked role).Kate is an overworked stressed out housewife who decides she needs some action in her dull life. She forms a romantic relationship with Joe and starts to rob banks with them, a little extreme for a mid- life crisis don't you think?. Later in the film she falls for Terry. Cate becomes torn between the two and a rift is formed between the thieves. This is the interesting dilemma explored in this film as the two cannot afford to be torn apart as all they have in life is each other.

This film is funnier than you would expect, it plays more as a comedy than a crime film. Willis nicely escapes his cop persona in the role of Smooth likable Joe Blake. Thornton is superbly funny as Collins, the neurotic paranoid partner. As aforementioned, Blanchett is perfect as the love interest.

The ending is enjoyable if not a little expected. The one big flaw in this film is that Thornton's character, though entertaining is clearly not the criminal type. Though the relationship between the two main characters is touching.

Bandits is a funny, enjoyable, original comedy that I recommend to everyone. Go out and see this film. There will hardly be a moment in it that you will not adore.