Bandits (2001)

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

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Harley Peyton

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett

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

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Joseph 'Joe' Blake
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Terry Lee Collins
Cate Blanchett	...	Kate Wheeler
Troy Garity	...	Harvey 'Dog' Pollard
Brían 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

Storyline

Two convicts, one charismatic (Willis) and the other a hypochondriac (Thornton), break out of prison and immediately start a bank robbing spree, kidnapping bank managers, spending the night with their families, then going with the managers in the morning to rob the banks. Using a dim-witted stunt man as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off several jobs (even gaining the attention of a television show about American criminals), and become known as "The Sleepover Bandits." Things are going great until the bank managers begin to realize that the robbers are non-violent and therefore no threat to them or their employees, changing the game for the Bandits. To add to the complications, a bored & unhappy housewife (Blanchett) ends up in the hands of the criminals, and begins to have romantic feelings for both Willis and Thornton, causing a sticky love triangle.

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Plot Keywords:

bank manager | television | love triangle | hypochondriac | prison | 

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Taglines:

Two's Company, Three's A Crime.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [us] MGMawards.com [us] nominees, reviews

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Outlaws

Filming Locations:

Bodega Bay, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,330,135 (France) (18 January 2002)

Gross:

$41,523,271 (USA) (1 February 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hyde Park Entertainment, Empire Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The storyline is loosely based on real life bank robbers Terry lee Connor and Joseph Daugherty. Many elements of their heists are accurately depicted in this film, including breaking into the home of a bank manager and giving a soda to one of their victims.

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Goofs

A sign saying "Bay View Bank" (the real name of the bank they used for filming) is briefly visible as Joe and Terry rob the "San Andreas Bank".

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Quotes

Harvey: What about the mini-van?
Terry: You leave it here.
Harvey: But I like the mini-van!
Terry: I appreciate that. But as it's a stolen mini-van it's probably best that you leave it here.

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Connections

Referenced in Scene 71 Filmmakers Workshop (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Gallows Pole"
(1994)
Written and Performed by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Courtesy of Mercury Records Ltd. (London)
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

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.