Small Time Crooks (2000)

A loser of a crook and his wife strike it rich when a botched bank job's cover business becomes a spectacular success.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Woody Allen, Tracey Ullman, Hugh Grant

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Allen	...	Ray
Carolyn Saxon	...	Candy Salesperson
Tracey Ullman	...	Frenchy
Michael Rapaport	...	Denny
Tony Darrow	...	Tommy
Sam Josepher	...	Real Estate Agent
Jon Lovitz	...	Benny
Lawrence Howard Levy	...	Dynamite Dealer (as Lawrence Levy)
Diane Bradley	...	Cookie Store Customer
Crystal Field	...	Cookie Store Customer
Cindy Carver	...	Cookie Store Customer
Ray Garvey	...	Cookie Store Customer
Bill Gerber	...	Cookie Store Customer
Olivia Hayman	...	Cookie Store Customer
Laurine Towler	...	Cookie Store Customer

Storyline

Dishwasher and small-fry criminal Ray hits on a plan with his partners in crime to re-open a local pizza place and dig through to the bank down the street. As his wife can't cook pizza but does great cookies, that's what they sell. While the no-hope tunnellers get lost underground, the cookie operation really takes off and the team find themselves rich business people. But the other local money isn't quite ready to accept them.

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | planning a robbery | neo screwball comedy | heist | new york city | 

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Taglines:

They took a bite out of crime.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Woody Allen Spring Project 1999

Filming Locations:

Doyers Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,880,723, 21 May 2000

Gross USA:

$17,266,359

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,934,477

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Sweetland Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (Mono) Dolby Digital (Mono)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie poster is based on an NYPD campaign from the 70s with the phrase "Never Give a Criminal an Even Break".

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Goofs

Shown the house where writer Henry James(whom her husband confuses with band leader Harry James) once lived, the culturally challenged Frenchy announces that James was author of "The Heiress" (which she mispronounces as "hair-ess"). In reality, "The Heiress" was the title shared by a movie and a stage play, each inspired by James's novel "Washington Square"; James never wrote anything called "The Heiress".

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Quotes

Denny: Ray really is a genius, Frenchy.
Frenchy: Compared to you, this chair is a genius, Denny.

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Connections

Features Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (1984)

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Soundtracks

With Plenty of Money and You
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Performed by Hal Kemp
Courtesy of Columbia Records by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

now he's making fun of rich New Yorkers

I would have never expected a movie like "Small Time Crooks", but one would have to imagine that it could only come from Woody Allen. He plays loser Ray Winkler, who plans to pull off a big heist. But of course, he needs a cover. So, his wife Frenchy (Tracey Ullman) opens a cookie shop above the tunnel that Ray is digging, and lo and behold, the cookie shop is a smash hit, and they never pull off the heist! A year later, Ray and Frenchy are fabulously wealthy, to the point where "60 Minutes" reporter Steve Krofft interviews them. But this all starts exposing the problems in their lives. Maybe crime would have paid after all! Above all, this movie shows that Woody Allen does best when just going for straight comedy. I would say that this was his funniest movie since "Mighty Aphrodite". Also starring are Elaine May, Jon Lovitz and Hugh Grant. You're sure to like it.