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 | reference to bonnie tyler | escape from prison | television interview | television star | 

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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

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 and Harvey are waiting for Joe and Kate. Harvey is dressed in a very loud cowboy outfit]
Terry: Harvey?
Harvey: Yeah?
Terry: Do you remember what I said about conspicuous behavior?
Harvey: Keep it low profile.
Terry: Are you achieving it do you think?
Harvey: Yep.
Terry: Good boy.
Harvey: What do you think of my boots?
Terry: Very lifelike.

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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

Spoofs It Happened One Night (1934)

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Soundtracks

Wear It So Well
(2001)
Written by Peter Hutchison
Performed by Lucas Shine

User Reviews

** out of 5

Billy Bob Thorton and Bruce Willis play 2 men who break out of jail and rob banks. The trailer showed the movie as a mix between thriller and comedy but the truth is it's much to dark to be funny and much to goofy to be taken seriously and really the only funny scenes in the whole movie were already shown in the trailer. I am a huge Willis fan and he is the only reason I saw this long and boring movie that delivers no laughs, no excitement and no sentimentality. You won't care ne bit for any of the characters because they are all bland and uninteresting especially Kate Blanchet who's charatcer has no point of being in the movie in the first place. Bruce Willis is the only person holding this whole mess together and I can't say that he was all that good either. They only people who should watch this movie are insomniacs who are trying to get some sleep everyone else should stick to the funny movies in this genre like Money Talks and Nothing to Loose.

Details

Official Sites:

Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Outlaws

Filming Locations:

Bodega Bay, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,050,700, 14 October 2001

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

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1