Bandits

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




A charismatic convict (Bruce Willis) and a hypochondriac inmate (Billy Bob Thornton) break out of prison in a cement truck and immediately start a bank robbing spree. Becoming known as the "Sleepover Bandits", the two kidnap bank managers the night before their robbery, spend the night with their families, and then all go to the bank in the morning to get the dough. Using a dim-witted stunt man (Troy Garrity) as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off several jobs that gets them recognition on a tv show about America's criminals. When a bored housewife (Cate Blanchett) with a failing marriage decides to run away, she ends up in the hands of the criminals. Initially attracted to Willis, she nonetheless also ends up in bed with Thornton and a confused romantic relationship begins. Continuing along with their spree, the bandits hit the wall when the bank managers realize that they are non-violent and therefore no threat to them or their employees. This leads to one more big score at the Alamo Bank, where in the very opening scenes, things appear to go awry.
Written by John Sacksteder {jsackste@bellsouth.net}




Two convicts, one charismatic (Willis) and the other a hypochondriac (Thornton), break out of prison and immediately start a bank robbing spree, kidnapping bank managers, spending the night with their families, then going with the managers in the morning to rob the banks. Using a dim-witted stunt man as their getaway driver and lookout, the three successfully pull off several jobs (even gaining the attention of a television show about American criminals), and become known as "The Sleepover Bandits." Things are going great until the bank managers begin to realize that the robbers are non-violent and therefore no threat to them or their employees, changing the game for the Bandits. To add to the complications, a bored & unhappy housewife (Blanchett) ends up in the hands of the criminals, and begins to have romantic feelings for both Willis and Thornton, causing a sticky love triangle.
- Written by John Sacksteder




SYNOPSIS

Busting out of prison, Joe (Bruce Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) are on the run and out of money. That changes when they devise a scheme to place bank managers under house arrest the night before they rob their banks. But success as the infamous "Sleepover Bandits" isn't the only change in store for them. As they cross state lines and break federal laws, they meet Kate (Cate Blanchett) a sexy, eccentric housewife whose indecision as to which of the two bandits she wants could spoil their partnership for good.