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	...	Joe Blake
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Terry Collins
Cate Blanchett	...	Kate Wheeler
Troy Garity	...	Harvey Pollard
Brían F. O'Byrne	...	Darill Miller
Stacey Travis	...	Cloe Miller
Bobby Slayton	...	Darren Head
January Jones	...	Claire
Azura Skye	...	Cheri
Peggy Miley	...	Mildred Kronenberg
William Converse-Roberts	...	Charles Wheeler
Richard Riehle	...	Lawrence 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:

cousin cousin relationship | eastern philosophy | bank manager | television | 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:

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) [United States] MGMawards.com nominees, reviews [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Outlaws

Filming Locations:

Salinas, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,050,700, 14 October 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$41,575,141

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$67,631,903

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 house of a bank manager, and giving a soda to one of their victims.

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Goofs

When Dog does the falling stunt off of his house he is shown falling forward and lands on his back with his head facing the house. When they cut to the angle from the roof he is shown kicking his feet out in front of him and landing with his feet away from the house.

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Quotes

Terry: You're gonna knock over a bank with a Magic Marker? What are you gonna do, write on 'em?

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits on the left side of the screen, you see 2 events happening: 1) Harvey and Claire (the Pink Boots girl) getting married in Mexico & 2) Some more outtake footage from the bandits' interview with Darren Head.

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Alternate Versions

In an alternate ending, Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett) is holding Joe's (Bruce Willis) and Terry's (Billy Bob Thornton) hands while watching the wedding, and she is pregnant. Letting the viewer speculate which man is the father.

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Connections

Referenced in El Crimen Perfecto (The Perfect Crime) (2004)

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Soundtracks

Walk On By
(1964)
Music by Burt Bacharach
Lyrics by Hal David

User Reviews

Very entertaining and quite original

I must admit, when I sat down to watch this film, I didn't expect much; I had seen a few trailers, maybe a TV-spot or two, but that's it. The only thing I knew about it was that it was a crime-comedy, and that Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton portrayed the leads. I didn't think it would be so funny and thoroughly entertaining. The idea is somewhat original, though slightly derivative of movies like Bonnie and Clyde. The plot is very good; it details the various bank-robberies of two very different partners in crime. The pace is very good too, though I found parts of the last half hour of film somewhat dragging. The acting is great; Bruce Willis is great as the aggressive and determined robber, Billy Bob Thornton does a great job as the hypochondriac and very nervous robber, and Cate Blanchett gives a great performance as the slightly neurotic hostage who eventually falls in love with both robbers. The characters are well-written and credible. The comedy, crime and drama was well-integrated, and well-done. I didn't care too much for the romance angle, though, but, for what it's worth, it's not a bad one, and definitely not the worst I've seen. The actors have great on-screen chemistry, and they are well-casted. I liked the way the story was told; it left you thinking that you were merely following the events leading up to the end, but then, during the last few minutes, there is an excellent twist, which took me entirely by surprise, and made a great ending for a great film. Considering that the film is a PG-13 rated, two-hour long comedy which deals with crime, and has some drama integrated in it, it's really good. It's very funny, entertaining, and original. The humor is well-done, rarely falls flat, and mostly works great in the film. I liked that they mostly dodged stereotypes and cliches, instead of wallowing in them, like many other comedies nowadays do. I recommend it to fans of comedies, crime related films and dramas. To a lesser extent, it's also recommendable to fans of romance. Most general movie fans should also enjoy this, at least to some extent. 7/10