One for the Money (Blu-ray Review)
After [intentionally] missing the theatrical release of One For the Money, I finally got around to watching one of 2012’s least-talked-about movies! I’m saying all of this due to the underwhelming 2% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes and the many poor things I heard. Aside from that one film I liked of hers (Knocked Up), Katherine Heigl gives one of her worst roles, even topping her flop a few years ago, Killers. Enough of that, let’s get on to the goods: One for the Money, based on the best-selling book written by Janet Evanovich, is about a normal woman becoming a fake officer to do well on her cousin’s bail bond assignment. I guess she’s looking for a few not-so-good-men (wonderful tagline, folks)! Does One for the Money make the big bucks? Read on for more.
Film 
Even though my score is relatively low, I had a decent amount of fun with One for the Money, flaws notwithstanding. While I mentioned that Heigl didn’t give a very good performance, it was bearable due to the silliness of her role. My problem with her performance was the constant switch Heigl did with that god-awful southern accent. Seriously, she goes 10-20 minutes without it until she switches back for a few minutes. To be honest, not a bunch of big names come up, but we have less-than-average supporting performances from Jason O’Mara (Resident Evil: Extinction), Daniel Sunjata (FX’s Rescue Me), and Debbie Reynolds (The Unsinkable Molly Brown).
Another issue I had was how painfully redundant this was like another useless vehicle, The Bounty Hunter. One for the Money tries to pack in one-too-many clichés into a 90-minute film. Although I am unfamiliar with Janet Evanovich’s novel of the same name, I’m fairly certain that I would not care much for it. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather watch a movie than read a book (sorry to all book enthusiasts), but is it really necessary to adapt pointless prints? Would a little originality hurt? To Hollywood, apparently, it would, but since I haven’t read the books, I can only speculate.
Ironically, One for the Money is the beginning of a set of books, originally set to be movies, until opening week, when the film bombed at the Box Office with a depressing $11 million opening weekend and an even more depressing $26 million total gross, and only $7 million worldwide. The budget was $40 million, and it could not even make THAT back. Well, if the Blu-ray sales do well enough (which they won’t), it might. As the big Box Office aficionado I am, I just wanted to share that. 😉
The whole film relies on thawed-out characters and cheap, nudity-induced gags to catch the audience, while it proves ineffective for an avid film geek. Sure, for a group of pre-teens looking for a fun time or a Katherine Heigl fan (if there are any) out there, then I guess you would have a reasonable time with One for the Money, but please, never use the “One for the Money” and “classic” in the same sentence. Wow, reading this back, I’m sure of it – One for the Money is a plethora of awfulness bottled up into one poorly made, uneven “comedy”.
It tries to be funny when it isn’t, and tries to be serious (really?) when it shouldn’t. The acting is sloppy, the script is dull, and the direction is nothing to brag about. One for the Money didn’t have much potential, but I expected something a bit better than this. How does the Blu-ray presentation bode? Read on to find out, folks.
Video 
Since the film was quite shabby, at least we get a fine Blu-ray presentation. One for the Money is presented in 1080p (2.40:1) and looks good in its presentation. The film was nicely shot in multiple locations. The image is clear and includes accurate color representation with nice textures and deep, smooth detail throughout. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.
Audio
Another contributing factor to the Blu-ray presentation of One for the Money is its superb audio presentation. One for the Money is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and sounds absolutely terrific. The film has a fitting soundtrack with smooth tones and suspenseful during the action scenes. Ambient sounds are nice and well balanced, as well as dialogue situations, which are handled with solid clarity. No complaints here!
Extras
The special features on One for the Money are dull and uninteresting, and will *fortunately* bring down the final grade.
– Making the Money: Behind the Scenes
– Bond Girls: Kicking Ass in the Bail Bonds Industry
– Gag Reel
– Deleted Scene
– Theatrical Trailer
– iTunes Compatible Digital Copy
Summary
Even with a solid Blu-ray presentation that kicks up the overall presentation a notch, I can’t help but feel that One for the Money is a completely unnecessary flick that shouldn’t have gone into production in the first place. The acting is mediocre, the writing is weak, and the direction is run-of-the-mill. One for the Money is simply not up to snuff.
Order One For the Money on Blu-ray!
Comments are currently closed.