FAST MONEY, an unexpected diamond in the rough, occasionally floors its
accelerator pedal to the max. At its best, it is a wind-in-your-hair highway
ride, equal parts outlaw saga and white-collar liberation yarn; IT HAPPENED
ONE NIGHT (1934) meets SOMETHING WILD (1986).
Having
caused a major cop car pileup, luxury-car-thief Francesca Marsh (Yancy
Butler) latches onto journalist Jack (Matt McCoy), who is on his way to
cover a karaoke convention.
Desiring
a change of wheels, amoral Francesca "borrows" a flashy red sportscar--not
realizing the stolen vehicle's trunk contains counterfeit plates and $2.7
million in cash. These ill gotten gains belong to British crime king Sir
Stewart (Jacob Witkin), and he orders his trigger man Regy (Trevor Goddard)
to team up with bad cop Lt. Diego (John Ashton) to retrieve the goods and
eliminate Francesca.
Adept
at outsmarting the pit bullish Diego, Francesca wheedles Jack into further
cooperation by pointing out the headline potential of their predicament.
Entrapped by corrupt Feds on Stewart's payroll, Jack turns over the counterfeit
plates, but streetwise Francesca rubs out the crooked officials before
they can eliminate Jack.
Fleeing
warrants for robbery and murder, the erstwhile Bonnie and Clyde flummox
their trackers until Regy and Lt. Diego finally corner them at a roadside
tavern. Increasingly rattled, Regy guns down a barmaid to show Jack and
Francesca that he means business.
Francesca
and Jack escape once more, lie low at the apartment of Jack's mom, and
await passports arranged by Jack's newspaper editor. After these travel
plans are canceled by the murders of the editor and his companion, Regy
and Diego chase the fugitives to the Mexican border.
Jack
and Francesca stow away on an ice cream truck after Jack is wounded, hitch
another ride, and attempt to cross the border on foot. Dropping the loot
as Regy circles above in a copter, Jack uses Diego as a shield and shoots
Regy right out of his whirlybird. Without money, Jack and Francesca cross
the border.
Despite
some misfires, FAST MONEY is fast-paced fun invigorated by the personality
plus Butler, who strikes sparks in the usually bland McCoy. Butler has
enough cover-girl sensuality and sharp timing to rev up the engines of
any direct-to-video movie. In FAST MONEY, a sort of thumbnail sketch for
a slicker Hollywood blockbuster, Butler distracts viewers from massive
doses of improbability.
The
most serious hiccup in this madcap game of highway tag is that slaughter
of the innocent barmaid. Although intended to underscore Regy's deadly
volatility, the senseless act puts a heavy burden on a light entertainment.
Overlooking that sharp swerve into Demme-land, action buffs and romantics
can both enjoy this seduction of a contemporary Mr. Deeds by a service-road
Lorelei. Car theft as an aphrodisiac is a new spin on the Hollywood dictum
that crime can be rewarding but dangerous. (Graphic violence, extreme profanity.)
