HelenMary Bandits is a clever, unusual bank-heist caper staring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton as Joe and Terry, escaped convicts on the run, jacking banks under the guise of the "sleepover bandits" given their technique of kidnapping Bank Managers the night before to robbery. They're charming and non-violent, just wanting to finance their dream of getting Mexico to live the high lift. Playboy Joe (Willis) and hypochondriac Terry (Thornton) get into difficulty when bored housewife Kate (Blanchett) joins the duo. Comic relief, the klutz of the operation is wannabe stuntman Troy Garity, who is on a mission of his own having seen his dream girl "Pink Boots" (January Jones). Director Levinson played the action/drama realistic and close and it was believable enough to keep you in the story; the viewer believes the premise of the film as being plausible, "why hasn't anyone thought of this before?" This keeps the story zipping along, with wise cracks, tos and fros in story, and flashes back and forward, which I found clever devices to misdirect. With Willis' charm and Thornton's chameleon funny disguises and great acting his various symptoms and annoyances, and Blanchett's brilliance, the film was well cast and clever. Enjoyable, watchable and entertaining.

p-stepien Two convicts escape prison during a dastardly spontaneous break. Joe Blake (Bruce Willis), with charm and sex-appeal to spare, leads the duo into a series of bank robberies, however the brains behind the operation is Terry Lee Collins (Billy Bob Thronton), a hypochondriac with a subversive knack for stealing. After conceptualising the ploy to kidnap bank managers at their home the day before a heist, thus giving them access to the bank vault prior to its opening, the enter into a highly successful spree which gives them country-wide prominence. Blake cousin Harvey Pollard (Troy Garity) completes the team of robbers, functioning as the heist middleman and getaway driver. The situation however complicates itself when an dissatisfied housewife Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett), suicidally saddened by her husband's lack of interest, ends up a willing hostage of the three robbers, soon becoming a lover of both Joe and Terry...Hilarious, often through subtlety, not straight forward humour, "Bandits" turns several premises on its head, offering a well-conceived robbery ploy which simultaneously functions as a great instrument for comedic content. Although Willis is invariably himself the show is truly stolen by Billy Bob Thornton, whose quirky nervous character is revelatory offering apt space for him to present his comedic attributes. At times keeping the story simple and close to the audience, it nonetheless manages to bring about twists that are both ingenious and uncontrived. Features several absolutely charming scenes, including the most peculiar dance in memory.

caa821 We often wax on and on about films -- usually justified in doing so, and can enjoy comparing our analyses with others, debating with those who loved a film we hated, or vice versa, etc., etc.But sometimes I just enjoy letting friends know about films I'd recommend to them which are funny or amusing or clever or just plain enjoyable.So in commenting on this picture, I would only say it's all of these.The story is fun, the performances outstanding, and the chemistry among the three leads is tremendous - both as a unit and in any of the three possible combinations of two of them together.All three provide outstanding performances, as well as the entire supporting cast. And if you regard this performance by Billy Bob Thornton, compared with his in "Bad Santa" and "Sling Blade" - and think for a moment of these three diverse characters - can there be any doubt that this man is as fine an actor as one is likely to encounter?

marsh876 This movie is pretty useless. It just rambles on and on, going nowhere. It's not too long before we stop caring about the characters and stop caring about what happens next. The stars in it are shallow and annoying, just going through the paces, thinking about the big paychecks their agents negotiated for them. They have the same smug, bored expressions throughout.I guess the movie's best use is for late night TV cable stations where it's essentially filler between commercials. "Oh look, they've got big stars on this station. Let's watch until the next commercial break, then we'll change the channel." I've never heard more useless mumbling and whining in any movie. There are scenes that are totally stupid and inane. Maybe they have a special award somewhere for a film that best grates the nerves of the audience. Does it take a special talent to do this? The positive side is that Bob Dylan sings a couple of songs in the soundtrack, and it's a special pleasure to hear him. I don't know why he wanted his name associated with this piece of garbage, but here we have it. Someone said they spent $80 million making Bandits. I wonder how much Mr. Dylan got? Another positive is that there are some good location shots in Oregon, California and Nevada. However, there is no integration of the characters or plot into the surroundings. They may as well have blue screened it, and just paid that money to themselves.I saw it on television with commercial breaks. I know it's a bad movie when I'm looking forward to the commercials.The "twist" ending? It's been done so many times, it was an insult to once again throw it at us. Besides, it wasn't much of a surprise, as we saw it all being played out.