I must admit, when I sat down to watch this film, I didn't expect much; I had seen a few trailers, maybe a TV-spot or two, but that's it. The only thing I knew about it was that it was a crime-comedy, and that Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton portrayed the leads. I didn't think it would be so funny and thoroughly entertaining. The idea is somewhat original, though slightly derivative of movies like Bonnie and Clyde. The plot is very good; it details the various bank-robberies of two very different partners in crime. The pace is very good too, though I found parts of the last half hour of film somewhat dragging. The acting is great; Bruce Willis is great as the aggressive and determined robber, Billy Bob Thornton does a great job as the hypochondriac and very nervous robber, and Cate Blanchett gives a great performance as the slightly neurotic hostage who eventually falls in love with both robbers. The characters are well-written and credible. The comedy, crime and drama was well-integrated, and well-done. I didn't care too much for the romance angle, though, but, for what it's worth, it's not a bad one, and definitely not the worst I've seen. The actors have great on-screen chemistry, and they are well-casted. I liked the way the story was told; it left you thinking that you were merely following the events leading up to the end, but then, during the last few minutes, there is an excellent twist, which took me entirely by surprise, and made a great ending for a great film. Considering that the film is a PG-13 rated, two-hour long comedy which deals with crime, and has some drama integrated in it, it's really good. It's very funny, entertaining, and original. The humor is well-done, rarely falls flat, and mostly works great in the film. I liked that they mostly dodged stereotypes and cliches, instead of wallowing in them, like many other comedies nowadays do. I recommend it to fans of comedies, crime related films and dramas. To a lesser extent, it's also recommendable to fans of romance. Most general movie fans should also enjoy this, at least to some extent. 7/10

Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and Terry Lee Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) are a bank robbing team. They break out of prison and come up with a different scheme. This time around they kidnap the bank managers and rob the bank before it opens. They become known as The Sleepover Bandits. Everything is going well until bored housewife Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett) runs over Terry.

This should be much better than it actually is. It has veteran director Barry Levinson, and great actors. But something is missing. There is a lack of energy. There is action but they're shot weakly. There are jokes but they lack the punch. Maybe they needed a real comedian in one of three lead roles. The three leads are great actors who sometimes do a few jokes in their roles. They aren't actually comedians.

Charismatic Joe (Bruce Willis) decides to escape prison on impulse and his hypochondriac chef friend Terry (Billy Bob Thortnon) comes along, mainly because he was upset with the warden who has banned garlic, a substance Terry claims he needs for his various aliments. They are very polite bank robbers and go on to become iconic figures, picking up Kate (Cate Blanchett) along the way who forces herself into the gang as a "hostage" and becomes part of a love triangle. She has similar issues and hobbies as Terry making the quirky characters the highlight of the film.

Blanchett excels in a film where no acting is required. The humor was not a knee slapper, but did make me smile.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs, sex, or nudity.