Other Titles • Bandits • Outlaws (2000) • Banditen! (2001) • Outlaws: A Love Story
Synopses for Bandits (2001)
1.
Chemistry and quirkiness--and a stellar cast--help make Barry Levinson's Bandits more than just another comedy about ill-matched outlaws. Levinson's deft touch in Rain Man is evident in the film's road-movie structure, which follows bank robbers Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) on a crime spree from Oregon to California. They're eventually joined by an aspiring stuntman and getaway driver (Troy Garity, son of Jane Fonda) and a neglected housewife (Cate Blanchett) who falls in love with both Joe and Terry after escaping her boring marriage. As scripted by Twin Peaks alumnus Harley Peyton, Bandits shifts from character comedy to crime thriller with reckless abandon, and the humor (particularly Terry's multiple neuroses) is occasionally forced and flat. Levinson compensates with offbeat moments of unexpected tenderness, allowing his cast to express depths of character not necessarily found in the script. A twist ending won't surprise attentive viewers, but it gives Bandits the extra kick it needs. --Jeff Shannon
2.
Following a spur-of-the-moment escape from an Oregon prison, macho ladies man Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and sensitive, hypochondriac Terry Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) become the best-known thieves in the country. Deemed "The Sleepover Bandits," Joe and Terry add a twist to conventional bank robberies by taking the bank manager hostage the night before the heist and accompanying him/her to the bank first thing in the morning. With the help of Joe's cousin, Harvey J. Pollard (Troy Garity), a simple, aspiring stuntman, "The Sleepover Bandits" rob their way down to southern California with hopes of making it to Mexico. Joe and Terry's partnership and friendship is tested, however, when they each fall in love with Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett), an unhappy, unappreciated housewife who deems herself their hostage and ultimately finds herself attracted to both men. Directed by Barry Levinson (DINER, RAIN MAN, WAG THE DOG), this somewhat quirky comedy features fine performances from Willis, Thornton, and Blanchett and is a nice departure from the average buddy film. Levinson's framing of the story through the reports of a true-crime show is particularly interesting.
3.
Suave, irresistible Joe (Bruce Willis) and his hypochondriac partner Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) have escaped from prison. Cutting a swatch from Oregon through California, these fugitives rob banks in order to finance their scheme for a new and somewhat legitimate life south of the border, leaving a trail of terrified bankers, bad wigs - and an adoring public - in their wake.
Unfortunate, things get more complicated when they meet Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett), an ordinary housewife sick of her boring life - who happens to run into Terry with her car. Kate joins the bandits on their cross-country spree, and eventually she steals something, too - their hearts. Both guys fall in love with Kate - and Kate falls for both of them. Joe and Terry are far from ideal on their own, but together they make up the perfect man...
4.
"One of the year's best films!" -Joel Siegel, "Good Morning America"
Out of jail and on the run, bank robber Bruce Willis devises the perfect crime with imperfect partners Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett in this fast-paced and "flat-out funny" (USA Today) action comedy.
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
<>
Movie Database
In Theaters
