Masterminds
In 1997, David Ghantt pulled off one of the most expensive bank robberies in U. S. history, stealing a whopping $ 17 million dollars. Masterminds mines t he basics of that famous robbery to make a madcap comedy that plays up the white- trash quotient and downplays factual accuracy.
Out of context, scenes l i ke, Kristen Wiig using yeast- infection cream as a weapon on Kate McKinnon in a cat fight or a mustachioed Jason Sudeikis casually dropping the detached ear of his latest victim on the ground, might sound awful, but with context, they’re not much better. From director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Masterminds is the kind of comedy that relies on making caricatures of dumb white people, complete with yokel accents and tawdry 1990s hairstyles.
Zach Galifianakis plays Ghantt in the kind of sympathetic- loser role the viewer is reluctantly forced to identify with, a bushy haired idiot whose body gags are supposed to humanize him. To the film’s credit, Galifianakis is talented enough to imbue the sadsack David with some real pathos, despite everything working against him.
Masterminds is the kind of harebrained noir comedy the Coen Brothers are known f or perfecting in films like The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona, but under Hess’ direction, not an ounce of thought is put into making Masterminds interesting.
The premise is as simple as its characters. David is engaged to Jandice, played by spotlight- stealer McKinnon, who looks, speaks and acts as if she belongs in Madame Tussauds’ wax museum. Their imminent nuptials are interrupted by David’s crush on his co-worker Kelly ( Wiig). After she’s fired for insubordination, her skeevy friend Steve ( Owen Wilson) ropes David into a robbery scheme by exploiting his feelings for Kelly.
After stealing the money, David is tricked into laying low in Mexico with a buttload of cash ( literally) and wait for Kelly, who will never arrive. Meanwhile, Steve essentially spends the millions on himself and his whitetrash- cum- nouveaux- rich family, while steely-eyed law enforcement ( Leslie Jones and Jon Daly) try to track everyone down.
Masterminds does hit the mark in some scenes, many of them involving Galifianakis. An early engagement photo shoot features cheesy smiles from David and Jandice as they stage a multitude of prop-heavy tableaux.
In another scene, a graceful Galifianakis zooms down a Mexican street rollerblading and listening to a Discman while escaping a smug Sudeikis, who plays an assassin. But even with this ensemble of comedic talent, the film is doomed to fail. Its editing rhythm and tension- building is so offkey it makes something as exciting as a vault robbery torturous to watch.
Masterminds also feels dated in many aspects. The movie was made in 2014, but i ts 2015 release was pushed back multiple times because its production company (Relativity Media) filed for bankruptcy. So, the fact that Masterminds features several women actors who are now known for the girl-empowering Ghostbusters makes scenes mocking Wiig’s cleavage that much more surreal to watch. The ’ 90s setting feels distant, certainly, but Masterminds makes 2014 f eel equally quaint in retrospect. Ω½
NOT AN OUNCE OF THOUGHT IS PUT INTO MAKING IT INTERESTING.