Director Jared Hess used to win hearts with his endearingly awkward oddball films, but those days seem to be behind him. Based on the 1997 Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery, his latest comedy, Masterminds, sadly lacks all the wacky artistry and ingenuity Hess brought to Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. Even the cast, a stacked deck of comedic all-stars, cannot rescue the film from its fate as a forgetful, sporadically funny production.
The audience is immediately introduced to David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), the film’s protagonist and principal felon. In the first scene, David absentmindedly fires a revolver at himself—this is simply a preview of the cheap humor that haunts the next ninety minutes. The movie follows David as he botches a $17 million robbery of a Loomis security vault where he works as an armored truck driver. Persuaded by his crush, Kelly (Kristen Wiig), and her long-time friend, Steve (Owen Wilson), David soon becomes the pawn of the operation. He makes off to Mexico in the name of love, abandoning his fiancée (Kate McKinnon) with high hopes of his and Kelly’s future romance, only to be conned out of his cut of the profits by Steve.
Accurately dubbed the “hillbilly heist,” the real story of the Loomis Bank Robbery is almost as dumbfounding as Masterminds. The film relies on the sheer dimwittedness of the robbers to propel it through an unimaginative plot and dull script. However, the slew of unappealing characters is slightly redeemed by the wide-eyed, psychotic performance of McKinnon. The SNL star injects an otherwise predictable role with her famed eccentricity, supplying some of the best humor. Jason Sudeikis likewise nails his role as hit-man Mike McKinney, a bloodthirsty maniac with an unexpected southern drawl. While these two maintain their quirkiness throughout the movie, the other top billed cast members have only brief moments of triumph. Wilson, Wiig, and Galifianakis play one-dimensional and unexciting characters, ultimately failing to impress.
Masterminds is not entirely un-funny. Hess delivers on the facial hair and accents, which have essentially become trademarks of his movies. If anything, the film might be worth a watch simply to see Ghantt’s airport disguise and McKinney’s mustache. The underlying issue, however, is the film’s dependency on such costumes for humor, instead of the writing itself.
The film shows the most promise when it veers in the direction of a noir satire. The exaggerated archetypes of two FBI agents (Leslie Jones and Jon Daly) and the recurring Bonnie and Clyde motif gives the film occasional substance. These are sadly subverted, though, by a spattering of overworked scenes, including a tacky Walmart cat fight and near deadly burrito mishap.
Despite the talent in front of and behind the camera, Masterminds could not meet its comedic aspirations. Although set to debut in August of 2015, the release was postponed a year because of production company Relativity’s inability to provide marketing funding. Unfortunately, the film was not worth the wait.
