At some point over Katherine Heigl’s long run of romantic comedies, people started to think of her as a bad actress who only does bad movies. If you go through her filmography, it’s actually not as bad as you think. Now she takes on the comedy mystery One for the Money, based on the first of a popular book series. Heigl plays Stephanie Plum, who takes on a new job as a bounty hunter after being fired from her retail position. When she finds a reward out on a former boyfriend (Jason O’Mara), she jumps at the chance to bring him in. But as the chase evolves, she begins to act as a detective, uncovering the facts of the crime. Of course the police missed some things during their investigation.
With the exception of some questionable New Jersey accents from some of the actors, those involved do well to keep the film light-hearted through some potentially serious moments. This could be viewed as a negative, though I find that the film knows its niche is comedy and there are no attempts to cross into another genre. Daniel Sunjata provides a bit of authenticity to the fact that Heigl’s character is actually able to work in the dangerous profession. But (Spoiler Alert) when a well-known actor like John Leguizamo appears in a cameo role, it reveals that the character likely has a bigger moment coming later in the film.
Even with the bit of predictability, One for the Money is relevant due to the lack of female lead films not driven by a romance. While romantic elements are there, those who don’t like rom-coms would be able to enjoy this one. Most movie critics don’t tend to support movies like this because there is no attempt to reinvent the wheel. But it is possible for a movie to be entertaining without doing so.
Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.
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