Where the Money Is

My girlfriend took me to an advance screening of this film so we had no idea what we were in for. I had just seen Nobody's Fool so I was well prepared for the pace of the film, and Newman's sly, charming style. Fortunately, he didn't disappoint, (he's still as reliable as ever), and the film still held plenty of surprises for me. I will admit I was less than interested for the first 20 minutes, but by the end, I was impressed.

Newman plays Henry Manning, a old thief who crosses paths with Carol Ann MacKay (Fiorentino) who is a restless nurse at a rest home. As you can guess, it's a heist film with plenty of hilarity and real suspense. Keep in mind, it's a mild hilarity and suspense, with subtle exchanges and real emotional investment. The scenes play slowly and meticulously, like a heist, waiting for the exact moment to give us the payoff. They hit the mark more often than not in both arenas of comedy and suspense,

The chemistry between the principles is strong, especially with Fiorentino and Newman, with intelligent dialogue that takes the plot through a natural progression that doesn't betray the two lead characters.

Make no mistake, Newman's presence elevates this film, as he often does, and he does it with such ease that it's a joy to watch. If you like Newman's recent work, this film will not disappoint you.

As I have indicated, it's a slow film, not too deep, not overly witty, but subtle. It works on many levels, so I have no problem recommending it to fans of Paul Newman.

This little movie is all about Paul Newman - it's a heist flick, not of the same caliber of The Sting, but good fun nonetheless. Ole Blue Eyes at 75 yrs old still has more charisma than the current, top 5 highest earning movie stars combined. Linda Fiorentino has great chemistry with both her co-stars - no surprise there. She's so good, it's a shame she's not given more dialogue to chew on. Dermot Mulroney is every woman's complete package - OOFA! Catherine Keener (his real-life wife) is a one happy woman. This is worth seeing on the big screen!!

For admirers of quality movies, one of the greatest sources of frustration has always been the inverse ration that exists between movies that are good and movies that make money. The essential rule of thumb is that, with few exceptions, the larger a film's budget happens to be, the less likely that that film will have anything new or original to say. The corollary principle is that, given the choice between patronizing a film that is original, complex and meaningful and one that is derivative, simpleminded and thematically empty, the mass audience will go with the latter type every time. Driven by the need for profits, large studios are then forced to cater to this `lowest common denominator' mentality. The result is that wonderful little films are almost invariably squeezed out of the marketplace, left to languish in obscure art houses scattered in a few major cities, while bloated, mindless multi-million dollar monstrosities fill sprawling megaplexes found in cities, suburbs and rural areas stretching literally from coast to coast.

How many people, for instance, have even heard of, let alone seen, `Where the Money Is'? Yet here is a film dedicated to the spirit of pure fun, a lighthearted black comedy that is blessedly free of the hardboiled cynicism and explicit violence that plague so many such films. The film hooks the audience from the very start with the originality of its plot and setting. Set in a small Oregon town (though the film was, rather inexplicably, filmed in the environs of Montreal), the movie stars the superb Linda Fiorentino and Dermot Mulroney as long time high school sweethearts who have married right after graduation, found their comfortable little niche in the small world they inhabit and now begun to take each other for granted. (The opening scene introduces us to them as they are roadhousing around on prom night in his prize Mustang, the one symbol of a rebellious youth that he still clings to all these years later). It is at her job – as a nurse at a local convalescent hospital – that a measure of excitement reenters their humdrum lives and relights the long dormant spark of adventure that she, in particular, has been missing. This novelty comes in the form of an aging bank robber (Paul Newman) who has apparently suffered a stroke and is sent to the rest home due to overcrowding at the prison hospital.

The early scenes of the film are wickedly funny as Fiorentino, suspicious that her new patient may just be faking it, plays a clever little game of cat-and-mouse to try to catch him in his impressive charade. Suddenly, having achieved her goal, she is not quite so sure who is really the cat and who the mouse.

To say more about the plot would really do a disservice to this film, which manages to keep us intrigued by the unpredictability of its most unusual setup. Fiorentino and Mulroney are thoroughly believable as a couple of once-edgy youngsters grown into responsible, comfortable but slightly restless adults. She, in particular, finds herself stifled by the humdrum quality of both their life and their marriage together. Mulroney, on the other hand, seems to have pretty much lost that desire for living on the edge, yet, for her sake and, perhaps, for the sake of that tiny spark for adventure that still lives unquenched somewhere deep inside him, he is willing to meet her halfway – even if a bit reluctantly – on the field of lawlessness. Newman, as the expert bank robber who stumbles unexpectedly into their lives, provides the perfect catalyst for renewed adventure.

The amazing thing about `Where the Money Is' is that, thanks to its writers, Max Frye, Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright, and the director, Marek Kanievska, the film never ends up taking itself too seriously. It always knows that its prime purpose is to give the audience a fun time. This it does with the help of its three dazzling stars, who seem to be having the time of their professional lives (Fiorentino is especially wonderful). It sure must be infectious, because we, in the audience, have a pretty damn good time watching them.

I was pleasantly surprised when I viewed "Where The Money Is" because I didn't hear much about it. "Where The Money Is" happens to be one of the most enjoyable films I've seen all year. I knew I could count on Paul Newman to deliver a top notch performance as he has done in the past.

Newman leads a cast, which includes Dermot Mulroney and Linda Fiorentino. These three are on a mission to pull off a bank job. It is not as simple as we think; Newman, a master bank thief, has been remanded to a hospital after suffering a stroke (or is it). This is where he meets a nurse who is sees through his charade and wants in on the action. The stakes have risen when the nurse's husband gets wrangled into the bank job.

"Where The Money Is" plays to everybody's funny bone because Newman gives one of his most engaging performances. The one aspect of the film I enjoyed the most was Newman's captivating presence on screen with each scene he was in. He pulled the audience in with his charm and made them a part of a film.

Though the plot has been done before in other movies, the way it was performed left me breathless because it is so unique. I have to give credit to Fiorentino and Mulroney because they play off Newman very well.

"Where The Money Is" is captivating as it is funny. When you add Paul Newman's humor and comedy with great support from Linda Fiorentino and Dermot Mulroney you have a rousing success in "Where The Money Is."

Age has pared Paul Newman's fine features to a sketch - it's also honed his huge movie appeal to such basics that he can pretty much maintain our attention while in a coma. But as if to test his powers, in the shagging and intriguing caper "Where the money is", Newman plays Henry, a former famous bank robber and current guest of the prison system who actually is in a coma, or at least a stroke like state of suspended animation. Slumped and glazed, Henry sits for hours in his wheelchair at the nursing home to which he has been transferred tended to by Carol (Linda Fiorentino) a less than angelic nurse and onetime prom queen. Carol lives with her husband, in the same drab town where she grew up. She's bored as a former prom queen always is. And she's convinced that Henry - who had led the only interesting life around - is faking his stupor. So she bamboozles him into dropping his act, then promises to keep the secret, if he'll include her on just one more Bonnie and Clyde size heist. British director Marek Kanievska counts on the audience knowing that Newman's fame is tied to playing heist pros and hustlers, and that we're not just seeing some gravel voiced coot in a wheelchair - we're seeing what Butch Cassidy might have become had he not messed up in Bolivia. The minimalist acting the star has done in recent films like "Message in a bottle" and "Nobody's fool" serves him well, because he's confident - rightfully so- that the audience will fill in the blanks. Incorrigible Henry is fundamentally opaque, but canny Newman lets his eyes do the talking. As for Fiorentino, the star of "The last seduction" reprises her dangerous, restless woman persona as if to remind us (and casting agents) that if she got every role currently going to Catherine Zeta Jones, movies would be a lot more interesting. The payoff is the clash between a taciturn bandit faking feebleness and an angry Florence Nightingale, faking compassion, played by two actors who are the real thing.