February 25, 2012

Mixed Reviews: One for the Money



Rotten Tomatoes says there are not enough votes to reach a consensus – but the odds are not tipping in the favour of One for the Money.

Out of 49 reviews, 48 are rotten.

Melissa Anderson from Village Voice is straight to the point:

“Punitively dull.”

As is Andrew Barker from Variety:

“Tedious and tonally inept.”

Ed Gibbs from the Sun-Herald directs his criticism at Katherine Heigl:

“With yet another ho-hum run at the multiplexes, Katherine Heigl's big-screen resumé is fast looking like an insider's gag.”

As does This is London:

“The film miscasts Heigl and doesn't do much good for Debbie Reynolds as Grandma, either.”

The general audience vote seems a little kinder, with 59% having liked it. The views of “Super reviewer” Bathsheba Monk are case-in-point:

“This is an entertaining movie and Heigel is perfect as Stephanie Plum. Okay, official critics, it's not Citizen Kane, but it isn't pretending to be...can't you see the difference between art and entertainment? Nice to see a movie where the women is the hero!"

What are your thoughts? Did you enjoy the film? Did Katherine Heigl satisfy your expectations for Stephanie Plum?

5 comments:

  1. I blogged about One for the Money if you're interested -- http://booktalkandmore.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-for-money.html -- I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but as a piece of popcorn entertainment I did enjoy it.

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    1. Hi Ruth, thanks for stopping by! I like your term "popcorn entertainment" - I think it encompasses this type of movie very well.

      Great blog, by the way! I especially love your 'All things Jane' series.. I'm in love with that movie! I've written a review on it if you're interested:

      http://bookorbigscreen.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/i-have-no-tale-of-woe-sir-review-of.html

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  2. "...can't you see the difference between art and entertainment?"

    Finally a critic "gets" it!! YAY! Loved this movie. As Ruth said, I also wrote up a review about it - I don't know either about the book vs. movie but having read parts of a "preview" of the novel on-line, I could tell two paragraphs in, it wasn't a story I wanted to read (it started out crass and that isn't promising). It seems that another movie improved on its novel counterpart.

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    1. Hey Rissi! Your blog is looking especially fabulous at the moment... That's a big call - that the movie has outdone the original - particularly after only reading two paragraphs :) I'm not sure the die-hard Stephanie Plumb fans will agree with you.

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    2. Ha! That is very true, Danielle. I'll revise my statement:

      In my opinion, the movie improved on the novel. ;D

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