Catch .44 (2011)

3 women are sent to intercept a major drug deal at a diner at 3 AM and get the money. Simple - save for Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Director:

Aaron Harvey

Writers:

Aaron Harvey, Diego Garzon (staff writer)

Stars:

Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Deborah Ann Woll

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Malin Akerman	...	Tes
Nikki Reed	...	Kara
Deborah Ann Woll	...	Dawn
Forest Whitaker	...	Ronny
Bruce Willis	...	Mel
Shea Whigham	...	Billy
Jimmy Lee Jr.	...	Jesse / Trucker
Brad Dourif	...	Sheriff Connors
Jill Stokesberry	...	Francine
P.J. Marshall	...	Deputy Elmore
Dan Silver	...	Businessman David (as Dan Sliver)
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Brandon
Edrick Browne	...	Davon
Christopher Alan Weaver	...	Male Diner Patron (as Christopher Allen Weaver)
Amanda Bosley	...	Female Diner Patron

Storyline

For Tes (Akerman) and her two cohorts Kara (Nikki Reed) and Dawn (Deborah Ann Woll), the job sounded simple enough: intercept a double-cross drug shipment for their crime boss Mel (Willis) at an isolated diner. But when an unstoppable chain of events unfolds, everyone soon realizes no one is who they seem and the job may be something other than eliminating the competition. What started as simple instructions has now turned into a deadly cat-and-mouse game - with large guns pointed at everyone.

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Plot Keywords:

impersonating a police officer | neo noir | tough girl | female protagonist | killed in police car | 

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the girls are heading out in the car for the first time, Malin Ackerman's character is adamant that they play a tape from the 80s. The tape she chooses is "The Return of Bruno" by Bruce Willis and a small sample of his cover of "Respect Yourself" is heard. Bruce Willis of course plays Mel, their boss, in the movie.

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Goofs

After Ronny shoots the cop in the head, he then steals and wears his uniform. The uniform should be a bloody mess, instead of completely clean and pristine and the uniform should be too small and tight on the heavyset Ronny, because the cop originally wearing the uniform is of normal build.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mel: It's sad, isn't it? I've been working with you seven years. Seven years. I always liked you. I Always looked after you. But I never trusted you.

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Connections

References When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

User Reviews

From 'Die Hard' to 'Try Hard'

Quentin Tarrintino. There, I said it. I got it out the way straight away. It's just you can't really talk about Catch 44 without mentioning the man in some way. Catch 44 is so 'Pulp Fiction inspired' that you'll be expecting Samuel L Jackson to pop up in a gimp mask at any time.

Instead of a predominantly male cast, Catch 44 centres on three female drug smugglers and what happens when one of their (supposedly routine) drop-offs goes very wrong. That's about the extent of the plot. I've read in other reviews phrases like 'the film stretches a single scene out for the entire ninety minutes.' And they're not far off it.

The whole film is - technically - set in a diner (the location for the illegal exchange). What other parts of the film come in flashbacks and repeats of the initial scene, over and over again. This has picked up more than a little criticism from some as being repetitive and annoying.

I didn't think it was that bad. Granted, Catch 44 is no Pulp Fiction, but I found it entertaining enough to watch for an hour and a half. One thing you should know is that Bruce Willis (despite featuring heavily on all major advertising) is in it for about ten minutes. The story is mainly about the girls. Forest Whitaker does his best to inject some much-needed characterisation, but really, the lack of any forward momentum is the film's major downfall.

My advice: know what you're getting. This is no masterpiece, but it's not quite as bad as some of the reviews make it out to be. It just could have been a lot better, based on the star-power that seemed to be attached to the project.

Details

Official Sites:

Annapurna Pictures [United States] Official Forum

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2012 (Croatia)

Also Known As:

Catch .44

Filming Locations:

Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$291,742

Company Credits

Production Co:

Annapurna Productions, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films), Benaroya Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1