Mad Money (2008)

Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.

Director:

Callie Khouri

Writers:

Glenn Gers (screenplay), John Mister (earlier screenplay)

Stars:

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diane Keaton	...	Bridget Cardigan
Ted Danson	...	Don Cardigan
Katie Holmes	...	Jackie Truman
Adam Rothenberg	...	Bob Truman
Queen Latifah	...	Nina Brewster
Peyton 'Alex' Smith	...	Older Dante (as Peyton Smith)
Charlie Caldwell	...	Cop #1
Richard F Law	...	Cop #2 (as Richard Law)
Meagen Fay	...	Mindy Arbogast
Christopher McDonald	...	Bryce Arbogast (as Chris McDonald)
Denise Lee	...	Counselor
Sylvia Castro Galan	...	Selina
Morgana Shaw	...	Molly
Roger Cross	...	Barry
Stephen Root	...	Glover

Storyline

Don and Bridget Cardigan's upper middle class lifestyle is threatened since Don, who has been out of work for a year, seems to have given up looking for a job, and housewife Bridget has been out of the workforce for most of her life. They are close to $300,000 in debt. Finding out this information, Bridget comes to the conclusion that she needs to get a job - any job - that at least provides them with some benefits. She reluctantly takes a job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Almost immediately, Bridget is enthralled with all the old worn out money that is being shredded. She comes up with a plan to get her old lifestyle back by stealing much of that money, which she believes is an easy job since the locks used on the money carts are standard equipment and as she notices that no one ever checks the garbage as she goes about her work. Her plan needs the cooperation of one person who works the shredder and one person who pushes the carts of money. The two people ...

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Plot Keywords:

woman wears eyeglasses | money | bank | shredder | federal reserve bank | 

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Taglines:

Think Green.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual material and language, and brief drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mad Money

Filming Locations:

Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,736,452, 20 January 2008

Gross USA:

$20,668,843

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$26,412,163

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big City Pictures, Granada Entertainment, Grand Army Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role as Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins (2005) sequel The Dark Knight (2008) to star in this film. Maggie Gyllenhaal was subsequently chosen to replace her.

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Goofs

At the Federal Reserve, no employee is left alone with the money during cash processing.

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Quotes

Bridget Cardigan: We'll think outside the box!
Don Cardigan: Well that's good because we're selling the box and moving into a smaller box.

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Crazy Credits

Designated Stand-in Jonnee Winkler

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.84 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Jakob's Blues
Written by Martin Davich (as Martin Davich) and Michael Mason
Performed by Font 48

User Reviews

Mad Fun!

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, and Callie Khouri (the screenwriter of Thelma and Louise) come together so perfectly in this entertaining crime adventure.

Bridget (played by Diane Keaton) is the wife a laid-off a corporate manager Don (played by Ted Danson) and when he tells her they will be downsizing (selling their beautiful house, living simpler, etc.), she looks for a job to desperately keep them in their respective status. Having not worked in years, the only job opening she is able to find is the janitor at a Federal Reserve Bank. As she watches the shredding of worn out bills day in and day out, she concocts a plan.

However for her plan to work she needs two people to help her, and before long she solicits their help. They are Nina (played by Queen Latifah) the shredder, and Jackie (played by Katie Holmes) the carrier. As everything goes according to plan they start smuggling out hoards of cash and before long they have everything they could want…except for more. As they keep taking more, their actions catch the eye of the IRS, and their perfect plan starts spiraling out of control.

No, it doesn't have the intensely, complicated wit of other heist movies like the Oceans 11-13 or The Italian Job, but it is fiendishly entertaining. How nice to just sit back and enjoy this as entertainment, rather than try and figure out or follow all the intricate plot twists of other crime films.

It is refreshing to see a more "feminist" film from Hollywood, with all three leads as well as the director being women. I always wonder if women ever get annoyed at the lack of female lead roles in Hollywood films (especially since Jodie Foster only makes one film per year!).

All three actresses have great chemistry, and do well on their own. Diane Keaton is the queen of comic (yet not over-the-top) acting, Queen Latifah is sensible and sophisticated, and Katie Holmes morphs back into a teenage-twenty-something with flair.

This is an simple, enjoyable crime romp, with a great script that is just MAD FUN!