High Heels and Low Lifes

Mel Smith has the physique of Alfred Hitchcock, as well as the tendency to make cameo appearances in the movies he directs, but I'm afraid the resemblance ends there. "High Heels and Low Lifes" (what an awful title) is a mildly entertaining, mildly diverting romp that slots neatly into the "jolly British crime caper" genre which also includes "Shooting Fish" and Lord knows how many other movies. At one point, Minnie Driver's character says, "This is real life". `Real life' being the place where gangsters can start blasting away in broad daylight without anyone seeming to care one way or the other. The place where a deserted park in the middle of the night can suddenly be full of people and cars and yet the three gangsters can just vanish, leaving witnesses only able to identify the two attractive women at the scene. Hmmmm... With a top-notch cast which it doesn't deserve, the film gets away with its inconsistencies and inadequacies. Driver, Ian Williams and The Actor Kevin Eldon are excellent, milking a very thin script for every possible laugh. The pace never lets up, which also helps, so that while watching it, you might never notice how tenuous and slight the whole thing is. Using every trick in the book (pointless split-screen, padding-out aerial shots of London, etc.) Smith manages to keep things never less than interesting. It would have been nice to see Driver and the awful (though the script doesn't do her any favours) McCormack given more to do with the whole "Women taking on the blokes at their own game" theme, only occasionally hinted at, in shots of Driver putting a gun into her bra, blasting away with machine-guns, etc. What effect does all this immersion in crime have on our heroines? None, really - they prove themselves to be sassy and level-headed in certain scenes, but dotty and scatterbrained in others, but it's all okay, because they give all the cash to the hospital, anyway. The fake death towards the end is all-too obvious, the massive shoot-out is cranked up to top volume presumably to try and disguise the fact that so little is going on, and any hints at character development or depth are given very little attention. It's a shame because on one level it is enjoyable, it's just that there's nothing to it, and it could have been a lot better. Without the aforementioned very talented cast, this film would be an awfully hard slog. But with them, it's just about worth your attention when it turns up on TV. Here's hoping Minnie Driver makes some more real classics soon - "Grosse Pointe Blank 2" anyone?

Just delightful. An undiscovered gem (cubic zirconium?). Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack are a sharp and natural comic team. Unexpected touches of humor, excellent character actors, good plot. Oh, just watch it and enjoy yourself. I guarantee you will be quoting some of the better lines afterward. How many movies give you a rabbit who is apparently immune to machine gun fire (aside from Bugs Bunny)? Where else can you see Minnie Driver blasting a machine gun and laughing madly? And if you loved Mary McCormack in The West Wing... watch her suffer with a hangover while doing voice-overs for an animated alien tomato... (we've all been there, right?)

The first time I watched High Heels and Low Lifes it was on TV late, somewhat around 1 or 2 in the morning during the week. Having never heard of it before and not expecting anything, I kept watching it and ended up surprised. Sure, the story is a bit thin and there are no well known actors in it, but this movie simply works. In it's best moments, the chemistry between the two leading actresses works really well and is enjoyable to watch, plus the rest of the cast (especially the police) adds charm as well. It's just the right film to watch when it rains outside and you don't want any thrilling rides or deep plots but want smile or even laugh sometimes and just have a good time.

Most crime films that purport to be funny usually end up with a few too many laughs, making their criminals bumbling morons. Which may make for some great laughter, but with no real menace to make you wonder why they're criminals to begin with. Not this film - the balance between menace and comedy is carried out perfectly. The criminals are allowed to be menacing and intelligent (for the most part) while the two leads get on with the job of comedy. At least until the end, when it goes just a bit too far... My major problem with the film is the relationship between Driver and McCormack. It never quite gels - although that could just be my inability to see McCormack's performance as anything other than Donna Air with an American accent! All in all, worth a look - but not exactly an Oscar winner.

Certainly a twist, two very attractive young ladies (Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack) overhear a phone conversation about a heist in London, decide to extort money to be used for buying medical equipment for the hospital where Driver is a nurse. Trouble starts when they underestimate how dangerous the crooks are. People are shot, a car is blown up, but although hurt and wounded no one actually dies. There's really no deep message here, but they end up getting the money while the crooks get caught. Mostly it is just fun watching the bungling and the funny interplay between the two ladies, and Michael Gambon is good as the droll crime boss who finally orders, "Bring me their testicles in a jar!" Fat chance. :-) I saw it on DVD and the picture is remarkably clear and sharp. The Dolby 5.1 sound is fairly well done also. If I were to compare it to other British comedies, I thought "Snatch" and "Trainspotting" were better, but this one is better than such films as "Full Monty", "Smoking Barrels", "Brassed Off."

This movie starts out unremarkable, but it gets better, so stick with it. It is alternately silly (mostly in the first and last 15 minutes) and edgy (in the middle), but if you can ignore the various implausibilities (why would such a well-organized and highly professional team of robbers have such a moron as their lookout in the first place?) it's fun, with engaging performances particularly by Minnie Driver and Kevin McNally (who does the right thing by playing his role straight). In any case, it is much better than the very similar and mean-spirited "Beautiful Creatures" from the same year. (**1/2)

I approached this film with much trepidation, as I had heard no comments - good or bad - about it, and I have to say I was suitably impressed. The performances, particularly by Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack, were spot on, and the script was both witty and original in equal measure. Mark Williams as the acidly sarcastic Detective and Hugh Bonneville as the irate farmer are particular delights. On the whole (though a little slow to start) this film is funny, original and well worth the effort.

High Heels and Low Lifes The trailer tells us this is the next ‘Thelma and Louise,' but this wild and spicy flick is more like Starsky and Hutch meets Absolutely Fabulous. Brought to us by the veddy British, Fragile Films, the same people that brought us Spice World and is currently between two Wilde takes; 99's ‘Ideal Husband' and next year's ‘Importance of Being Ernest.' Girls just want to have fun. The overall theme is that old-time-Hitchcock-religion where Joe Everyman becomes unwittingly entangled into crime and intrigue. The stars are Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack as a nurse and thespian respectively. These are the two Joanne Everybodies with a UK twist of sophisticated slapstick like Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau. These women are presented as smart, strong and beautiful. Yay. And all the guys are either corrupt or useless. Just like real life. Min has a dumb boyfriend who's electronic eavesdropping picks up a cell phone mid-bank heist. Mary, the actress, fresh from a looping session with an animated tomato, sees the overheard phone conversation as an economic opportunity to squeeze the bad guys. `They'll never listen to a woman,' insists Driver. Mary says, ‘This is the twenty-first century and we do all jobs now.' Minnie crosses with `Do you want to extort money or raise consciousness?' Mary's answer, `Both!' The rehearsals for the blackmail phone calls to the bad guys are a hoot. The writing comes from two comedy vets from the BBC, Km Fuller who cut his teeth on ‘Red Dwarf' and Georgia Pritchett from the sassy ‘Smack The Pony' and nicely directed by Mel Smith who did ‘Mr. Bean.' Highlights include a very nice travelling matte midsection when both sides rally to battle reminiscent of the opening title sequence to Knots Landing and a smashing performance from Sir Michael Gambon, the great character actor which is another word for interesting.

This movie is great because it features two female leads but it isn't a chick flick. -=some SPOILERS=- A nurse (Driver) and a mediocre actress (McCormack) use the nurse's dumb boyfriend's scanners to listen in on phone calls. They overhear Danny, lookout for a gang of bank robbers who's calling his girlfriend. The police don't believe them when they report and the actress takes down the phone number. They concoct a scheme to blackmail the robbers for some of the take. They call Danny and set up a drop but Danny tries to shoot them and wounds a homeless man. So they track down Danny and find out his boss is named Mason. They blackmail Mason but get nowhere, eventually tracking down Mason's boss Kierigan. In the end they find Mason's house and hold him hostage. They manage to steal all 10 million pounds and get away. Good humor, though fairly subtle for American audiences, but British humor fans will laugh their butts off. Good acting and good direction. entertaining as a date movie, girl-power flick or light comedy. I recommend checking it out, rent it the next time you're out and pair it with Bridget Jones for more silly humor from the Brits.

I don't know what it is about this movie that I like so much, but everytime its on I always watch it. It is a comedy, despite what some people have said. Mary McCormack and Minnie Driver do a great job with their roles. I particularly liked Mary McCormack's character, the ditzy American actress.