Mad MoneyMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Mad Money."

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Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
13 Iffy for 13+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Latifah coasts on grit and verve, and Holmes has a goggle-eyed sweetness, but it's Keaton who rules. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Moviegoers will come up empty with Mad Money. This lifeless comedy and uninventive caper feels as if it were cobbled together at a studio's obligatory consciousness-raising diversity seminar. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Possesses its share of modest laughs, many of them delivered by Ted Danson as Bridget's bemused husband. But director Callie Khouri (best known for writing "Thelma & Louise") doesn't bring the dash needed to make this a comic heist on a par with "Ocean's Eleven." Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    A caper comedy with some definite problems. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    Keaton and Ted Danson, who plays her husband, Don, are the comedic bright spot in the movie, not least because they are ridiculous. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    In the breezy, amoral heist comedy Mad Money, "Fun With Dick and Jane" meets "9 to 5" on the way to recession. Read full review

  • 40
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    If the movie gets by, as it surely will during the current entertainment drought, most of the credit should go to a couple of performers (Latifah/Keaton) who come from different traditions, yet share a gift for breathing life into moribund material. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Improbable and generally unfunny comedy. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety | Justin Chang

    Banking on the appealing chemistry of Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah -- with co-star Katie Holmes awkwardly upsetting the balance -- this strained heist comedy about three cash-strapped femmes is watchable enough for a few reels, but lacks the requisite wit and amoral energy to capitalize on its get-rich-quick premise. Read full review

  • 38
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Mad Money is astonishingly casual for a movie about three service workers who steal millions from a Federal Reserve Bank. There is little suspense, no true danger; their plan is simple, the complications are few, and they don't get excited much beyond some high-fives and hugs and giggles. Read full review

View more reviews for Mad Money on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Girls-gone-greedy comedy best for moms' night out.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie from the director of The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is aimed more at mothers than kids. But some teens, especially girls who are fans of Queen Latifah or the celebrity circus that surrounds Katie Holmes, might be interested in checking this heist chick flick out. If you're considering a mother-daughter matinee, know that the main characters become unrepentant robbers motivated at first by necessity and later by greed. There are several conversations about sex (or the lack thereof) and a few scenes of passionate kisses, as well as some language (including "bitch") and social drinking.
  • Families can talk about the movie's theme: that money can buy you happiness. What did it buy the main characters? Did any of them do something good with the money, or were they all equally greedy? According to the product placements seen in the film, what specifically does money buy you? Do you think the movie glamorizes criminal behavior?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Desperation fuels their initial theft, but after that, the women, particularly Bridget, become greedy for more and more cash.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Cops point their guns before arresting people.
  • sex false3 Sex: A married couple kisses and discusses "doing it" in the car. The ladies tease Nina about not having sex for seven years, making jokes about how "sore" she'll be in the morning, how sex is like "riding a bicycle upside-down," etc. Nina and Barry make out in a closet. The three women strip to their undies to stuff their bras and panties with cash.
  • language false3 Language: Language includes "bitch," "ass," "damn," "hell," etc.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Range Rover, Lexus, Mac laptops, CNBC's Mad Money With Jim Cramer, Master Lock, Boss Hoss motorcycle. One of the main characters is motivated to steal by a desire to lead a life of conspicuous consumption.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Champagne and wine at cocktail parties and dinner; the ladies have shots and beer at regular meetings in a bar; the two husbands enjoy a beer together.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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