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Small Time Crooks
DVD
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Small Time Crooks *** (PG)
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Reviewed By George O. Singleton
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Hitting the Lottery Will Change you
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Woody Allen: Ray Tracey Ullman: Frenchy
Hugh Grant: David May: Elaine May
Written & Directed: Woody Allen
30 Second Bottom Line: A couple who barely make ends meet with the dish washing job of the husband and the wife a manicurist, decide to make their pot of gold by robbing a bank.
Story Line: The plan is to rent a store close to a bank and tunnel underneath and rob it on a Sunday. They do attain their wealth and are forced to learn how to live with it.
Ray (Woody Allen) convinces his wife Frenchy (Tracey Ullman) to invest in a cookie store 2 doors from the bank and sell cookies since she makes great ones at home. Having as much money as they could ever want, they get a fancy house and start mingling in with high society folks. We soon see where the phrase came from that says "you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy".
Ray does not particularly care for the country club set while Frenchy desperately wants to learn and be accepted. He likes to have a beer rather than a 20-year-old Bordeaux. Frenchy would rather learn about art history. She hires David (Hugh Grant) to help her with learning culture because he is an art dealer. David has his own ideas as he thinks that she has "outgrown" Ray.
May (Elaine May), is Frenchy's sister who gives an Academy Award performance as a supporting actress. Playing the role of a wonderfully sincere, not so bright woman, who manages to have her life in order, she is the type of person who after putting the ice cream back in the freezer, forgets to close the door…every time. At a high society party Frenchy makes a classic observation as the servers come around with the silver trays when she says "I hate anything with a toothpick because they lodge in your throat".
Tell Me More About It: The story is about one's mentality and how they should live their life. Is it okay to be happy going to the public beach in Miami rather than West Palm Beach? Would you be happier eating meatballs and spaghetti or to have sweetbreads and escargots?
The trailer to the movie is wonderful in that it gives you an introduction to the story, and in general what the film is about. It saves the best for last as the plot unfolds.
Finding the balance between money and values is a decision we all make. We just hope it's the right one in the right time.
PG (language)
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George O. Singleton © 2000
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Mini Filmography
Woody Allen: Curse of the Jade Scorpion, The
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Tracey Ullman: Panic
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Hugh Grant: Bridget Jones's Diary
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Elaine May: In the Spirit
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