Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton star in the screwball comedy, ''Mad Money.'' (Courtesy photo)

By Bob Polunsky
Movie Critic

“Mad Money” has a great cast – and a stale plot.

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes play janitors at a Federal Reserve Bank. The jobs were their last resort. They couldn’t find anything that paid better and needed a source of income in a hurry. 
They get more enthusiasm for their jobs when they see stacks of money at the bank. Taking it would be the answer to their problems, and it looks so easy, they think. Besides, some of the bank’s money will be taken out of circulation anyway.

Bridget (Keaton) thinks the money is just waiting to be taken now. Her co-workers, Nina (Latifah) and Jackie (Holmes), are just as eager to get more money to keep themselves afloat, so all of them agree to take advantage of the situation right away.

The movie has a talented cast, but more established comedians have already made this type of plot work by relying on their personalities more than the script.

Using personality to revitalize a predictable plot is an art in itself. It takes a cast of seasoned players who know how to entertain without stepping on each other’s toes. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes have more potential than proven track records as team players so their performances in a comedy with a familiar plot pale alongside films with players who know what pitfalls to expect.   

Jane Fonda and George Segal were at the peak of their comedic careers when they made “Fun with Dick and Jane”(1977). It was a moderately successful film about a respectable couple turning to crime to make ends meet. It was also one of the last Hollywood films about likable down-on-their luck folks turning to crime for that reason. Previous films with similar plot ideas worked better with more players experienced in team comedy.    

“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963) hit the jackpot with a plot about dozens of characters racing to find a stash of hidden cash that didn’t belong to any of them. It poked fun at people’s weaknesses with a talented cast that included virtually every comedian in Hollywood at the time. Phil Silvers, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Rochester, Milton Berle, Zazu Pitts, Spencer Tracy, Dick Shawn, Jonathan Winters, Peter Falk, Ethel Merman, Terry-Thomas, The Three Stooges and Dorothy Provine collectively made the movie an audience favorite. It was sold to the audience as “Hollywood’s first epic comedy.”

“Who’s Minding the Mint” (1967) had an all-star cast of comedy pros that included Joey Bishop, Jack Gilford, Victor Buono, Dorothy Provine, Walter Brennan, Jamie Farr and Bob Denver. Veteran TV comedian Howard Morris directed them well enough to get solid laughs by poking fun at greedy (but still likable) people. 

A big comedy cast means bigger laughs when the players are established comedians. Putting them together in a film keeps the laughs coming, and, oftener than not, the comedy works because of diverse personalities more than the plot itself.

Another problem with “Who’s Minding the Mint” was finding a way to resolve a story about stealing money from the U.S. Mint without giving anyone in the audience any ideas. It’s a problem with “Mad Money” as well.

Stealing money from a government institution isn’t laughable when the characters get away with it. It takes delicate script contrivances along with likable personalities and witty dialogue to sidestep the issue enough to maintain its entertainment value. It also takes seasoned players to make it work.

“Who’s Minding the Mint” and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” found a way to do it with a script that triggered funny reactions from players with a reputation of using their personalities to advantage. “Mad Money” compromises its storyline with contrivances that dilute the personalities instead, so it drops the ball.

Diane Keaton won an Oscar for her comedy performance opposite Woody Allen in “Annie Hall”. Queen Latifah earned an Oscar nomination for a comedy performance in “Chicago” with a host of team players to back her up, and Katie Holmes hasn’t had the chance to develop a comedy career yet.

They all have to rely on a script that doesn’t give them enough support to overcome its predictability and live up to its title of “Mad Money.” Keaton, Latifah and Holmes deserved a more laughable way out of a predictable plot to justify their participation. 

Studio rating: PG-13
Bob says: “Not mad enough to make a difference”
2 Stars