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Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Stephen Root ... see more see more... , Christopher McDonald , Adam Rothenberg , Roger R. Cross , Finesse Mitchell , Meagen Fay , J.C. MacKenzie

A woman who was used to the finer things in life is suddenly thrust back into the work force after her husband gets downsized in writer/director Callie Khouri's (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood... read more read more...) American adaptation of the hit British comedy Hot Money. Faced with the prospect of losing her home as her debt begins to mount, posh housewife Bridget (Diane Keaton) accepts a job on the midnight cleaning crew at a local branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. When the growing temptation of the cash that surrounds her night after night ultimately proves too powerful to resist, Bridget teams with two of the other cleaners for a criminal exercise in creative moneymaking. Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes co-star in a crime comedy inspired by actual events. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

52% liked it

133,657 ratings

Critics

23% liked it

105 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Callie Khouri

Release Date: January 18, 2008

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DVD Release Date: May 13, 2008

Stats: 5,988 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,988)


  • May 16, 2011
    It's very engaging (if you know what I mean). I couldn't take my attention off (you know those tiny breaks you take during movie). Nice.
  • November 25, 2010
    Pretty good and smart.

    The film begins close to the end of the story, when the suspects get caught and are interrogated. Then it flashes back to three years earlier and the film proceeds forward from there interspersed with occasional bits from the interrogation.

    Three years be... read morefore getting caught, Bridget (Diane Keaton) lived a comfortable upper class life until her husband Don (Ted Danson) was fired from his position and sunk into debt. The paycheck for Selina, the cleaning lady, bounces again. Selina confronts Bridget and suggests she take a job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

    On her first day on the job, Bridget hatches a scheme to steal damaged dollar bills slated for destruction. For her team she chooses Nina (Queen Latifah), who works the dollar bill shredder, and Jackie (Katie Holmes), who takes bill carts from the Secret Service room to the shredding room. It takes some work to convince Nina to join, but Jackie joins them quickly.

    The plan is that in the Secret Service room Bridget will switch a cart's official Master-brand lock with a near identical lock she purchased at Home Depot. Bridget will tell Jackie the cart number and give Nina the official lock. When Jackie gets the chosen cart, she dumps some bills from the cart into a trash can before taking the cart to Nina, who then uses Bridget's key to open it and restores the official lock, and then proceeds to shred the remaining bills. Meanwhile, Bridget, in the course of her janitorial duties, retrieves the dumped bills from the trash and splits them among Nina and Jackie in the women's restroom.

    Their first robbery is a success though the take is not as big as they had hoped. However, they're emboldened to do it again and again. Once Don and Bridget pay off their debt, Don suggests they stop before they get caught. Bridget rejects this idea and convinces Nina and Jackie to keep going. They almost get caught but they fold in one of the cops.

    A Federal Bank Examiner shows up at a party at Bridget's house, and the next day Bridget sees him at work. The Examiner confronts Glover (Stephen Root), who is unwilling to admit anyone has stolen a single bill out of his bank as a matter of professional pride. Tipped off, that night Bridget and her accomplices begin trying to get rid of all the loot stashed in their houses, but the cops move in before all the evidence is destroyed. Bridget escapes but the others get caught.

    Bridget hires a tax attorney to defend them. The lawyer gets Bridget and all her accomplices off the hook for their crimes. However, the IRS demands they pay their taxes, which turn out to be equal in amount to the money that remains. They walk away free but penniless.

    Eight months later, Bridget reveals to Nina and Jackie that she had stashed away a lot of the stolen money in the basement of a friend's bar.
  • January 17, 2010
    I thought it was cute. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, and Katie Holmes were absolutely adorable together and had great chemistry. They made the story an Ocean's Eleven for the girls, sounds like such a chick flick, but I think this is one that most could actually enjoy.
  • February 1, 2009
    I was surprised I could actually sit through this one, it looked so bad! Actually, it was a decent enough movie. I don't think I'd watch it again, but I enjoyed watching it once. All three of the actresses in this manage to lift it above what it actually is.
  • January 10, 2009
    Perfectly palatable as long as you don't expect it to make complete sense. I never understood why everybody hates Katie Holmes so much, and Queen Latifah is a decent actress. It's really just Diane Keaton I have a problem with; she seriously can't act sans Woody Allen.
  • August 6, 2008
    Funny and adorable.
  • August 3, 2008
    With a very heavy heart, I removed Diane Keaton from my favorite actors list about six months ago. It's been a long time, after all, since the glory days of Annie Hall and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. After suffering through Mad Money, my heart is a little ligh... read moreter, my decision to drop her even more justifiably confirmed, although I'm definitely saddened by the way her career has gone.

    Based on a true story . . . I live in hope that criminals like these will actually serve hard time in the near future. Atrocious acting and a stupid storyline -- true or not -- with a very hard ending to take, especially if you believe in things like the law.

    Why did I add this to my queue? For sure it was not because Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah, or Ted Danson tempted me to watch it. I guess I hadn't given up all hope for Keaton. But now I have.

  • May 24, 2008
    What a good cast; Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Ted Danson, and Katie Holmes.

    A upper middle class wife Bridget (Keaton)is in the middle of a crisis....she will be facing loosing her dream home, and everything else. Bridget is then forced to take any job with benefits that lan... read moreds her in a Federal Bank Reserve.

    While working at this Reserve Bridget meets two other eployess...one a single mother (Latifah) and another self medicated free spirit (Holmes). Bridget with the other ladies come up with a plan to steal money that will be no longer in ciruclation and destroyed. They then are rolling in the $$$$...this movie ended being better than I thought...not great but still a good movie to watch non the less.
  • May 19, 2008
    Hillarious. It had great actors in it too!!!
  • January 27, 2008
    to make up for wastin' $10 to see "cloverfield" i snuck across the hall and that's about the only way you could've got me to endure this caper flick for the ladies. yeah, they're bank robbers, ok, but they're NICE bank robbers. diane keaton, juicy heartthrob of my misspent yout... read moreh in those woody allen classics shows that it's possible to age gracefully and still be sexy---you go girl! queen latifah furthur legitimizes her "insider" status, which ain't necessarily a good thing. ms. holmes works to dig out from onus of a bad life-partner choice...and regrettably fails...she needs a good script and the right director (doh!) to shine. and nearly stealing the movie: senor ted "cheers" danson, who brings style and class to these silly proceedings.

Critic Reviews


Joe Morgenstern
January 23, 2008
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

There's an old saying: 'I wrote you a long letter because I didn't have time to write a short one.' In the case of Mad Money, I'll write a short review because the movie won't sustain a long one. (It ... Full Review

Richard Roeper
January 22, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

It's better than I expected it to be.

Stephanie Zacharek
January 18, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

This movie is designed to be fun, and its intentions are signaled to us over and over again, as when the women jump around on a bed, giggling and flinging old, dirty money around in a wanton display o... Full Review

Michael Phillips
January 18, 2008
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Speaking of recycling, this script by Glenn Gers reeks of it and not in a healthy, eco-minded way. Full Review

Claudia Puig
January 18, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Moviegoers will come up empty. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
January 18, 2008
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

It's not that much fun. Full Review

Peter Howell
January 18, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Mad Money is small change that somehow manages to add up to a satisfying sum. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 18, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's just OK, one of those decent little movies that get released in January. Full Review

Roger Moore
January 18, 2008
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It's just a lot more sane and tame than its 'mad' title would have you believe. Full Review

Kyle Smith
January 18, 2008
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Holmes, with Alice Cooper hair and crazy Jim Carrey eyes, looks terrible and acts worse, unless this movie is unintentionally a lobotomy documentary. Whatever could have happened to her in the last co... Full Review

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