One for the Money

Released: 24th February 2012 (UK)

Director: Julie Anne Robinson

Stars: Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara

Certificate: 12A

Reviewer: Ben Harris

“My name is Stephanie Plum and this is my story”, and what a boring story it is. Katherine Heigl leads this joyless adaptation from author Janet Evanovich, who is surely going to be livid with this dull outcome.

Stephanie Plum is unemployed and desperate for money as unpaid bills are starting to pile up. Luckily she gets a job at a bail-bond business and is given an assignment to bring in Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), a former cop who is wanted for murder. A perfect opportunity for her to get revenge after he took her virginity in high school and never called her back. As Morelli’s case starts to come together the crime he “apparently” committed doesn’t seem to add up and unfortunately for Plum certain people are not taking a liking to her and things start to get personal.

‘One for the Money’ is simply a mess thanks to director Julie Anne Robinson (and three screenplay writers) who struggles to grasp what tone to take with the film. Of course you can have a mixed bag of genres but ‘One for the Money’ can’t find the balance between being a comedy, drama or crime film. You decide. It fails on all accounts whatever the conclusion. The humour is predictable and bland whilst the drama and crime aspects are not well executed.

The story doesn’t consist of much. Plum repetitively goes from place to place questioning people, but with a character so amateur at what she does you start to feel disconnected from the story and end up not following or caring.

It’s unfortunate for Heigl as she is getting a reputation for her dire films. Remember ‘The Ugly Truth’ and ‘Killers’? She’s not likable as Plum and with a lifeless performance you detach yourself from the whole experience. Jason O’Mara isn’t interesting enough as the love interest and the awful dialogued banter becomes eye rolling.

Let’s hope ‘Two for the Dough’, the second book in the series, isn’t made any time soon.