This is a movie that is made in complete comedy style and is also being directed by comedy-man Mel Smith. Yet this is a movie that just has no laughs in it and it's as if they even did tried hard enough.

It's of course a movie with a very simple thin story, that also on top of that is an highly unlikely one, even for comedy standards. The way the entire movie progresses is also rather predictable, which makes this a very little uninteresting and unoriginal movie to watch. It's of course not a movie to take serious in the first place but in that case the movie should had had some more comedy and entertainment in it, which it just simply hadn't. Instead it also tries to be more moralistic, which often is an annoying approach for any comedy. Mel Smith obviously has some comical talent but he yet still needs to proof himself as a good comedy movie director.

Problem is also its two main characters. They are being presented in this movie as strong, smart, independent women but yet they do all these stupid things. So something is wrong here with the approach. And no offense but lets be honest here for a moment, can you at least name 5 good movies that has 2 female characters as the movie's main leads? It's just something that rarely ever works out successfully. especially when you have a movie with a non-serious approach. Females in comical roles also always tend to overact more than males in the same type of roles. This often works as sort of annoying, even though this movie is still bearable with its acting, thanks to the professional acting by Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack, who unfortunately just weren't given a better script to work with.

Also the supporting cast is a good one with actors such as Kevin McNally, Mark Williams and Michael Gambon in it. They still also give the movie some extra flair but you can debate about it if most of their roles were actually really necessary for the movie at all.

It's a movie that has the right style, uses the right actors but yet just doesn't work out as a good and successful enough comedy. The movie seriously lacks laughs, which is especially disappointing for a British comedy and could had used a more clever and originally written script and possibly a different director at the helm.

4/10

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"High Heels and Low Lifes" is a British comedy from 2001 starring Minnie Driver and Mary McCormack as friends who become involved in a robbery and decide to take matters into their own hands.

Driver plays a nurse, Shannon, and McCormack is her actress friend Frances. Finding out about a robbery nearby, they decide to blackmail the robbers for $2 million. The gang is led by Kevin McNally and Michael Gambon.

It's much more convoluted and fun than I've just described. I only gave it a 7 because it actually could have been a TV movie. However, it's so darn funny, and everyone in it is great. I had never seen the prolific McCormack in comedy; she's excellent. Minnie Driver looks great and is hilarious -- the two make a wonderful team. I wish they had turned this into a series.

It's on Netflix - if you like the type of comedies that were done in the '80s before everything appealed to the lowest common denominator, this is for you.

Not having a clue as to what this film was about, we took a chance when it showed on cable recently. It appears "High Heels and Low Lives", directed by comic actor Mel Smith, must have gone directly into video, or at least, we don't recall it having played commercially in the States.

The film offers an unusual pair of Thelma and Louise wannabes, who learn about a gang having a great fortune gotten from a robbery and decide to take things in their own hands to outsmart the criminals in order to steal their cash without much effort. Shannon, a nurse, befriends a struggling American actress, Frances, even teaching her how to speak with the proper accent. Both women succeed in unexpected ways to get away with the loot.

The film works because of the chemistry between Minnie Driver, who plays Shannon, and Mary McCormack, seen as Frances. This was a felicitous pairing because of the fun they must have had making the movie. Kevin McNally appears as Mason, a criminal without any redeeming qualities and who deserves to be outwitted by the women. Michael Gambon has a great time impersonating Kerrigan, an aging gay mobster. Mr. Gambon usually seen in heavier parts, contributes to the success of this movie that doesn't pretend to be anything but a fun time for the fans not looking into a complicated time with a DVD.