Film

A truly lamebrained crime-pays circle jerk, Andrews Jenkins’s tale of a schmo (Stahl) who stumbles onto a bank heist in progress is supposed to be a subversive statement about sticking it to the man. Self-serving is more accurate, as you can practically hear the writer-director patting himself continually on the back: Gosh, isn’t my dialogue so biting? (A sample exchange: “Seems like we’re both living now.” “It’s a bit on the edge for me…but I gotta admit, I kinda like the view.”) Don’t you think my pointless but oh-so-flashy camera moves are way ultrachic? Aren’t my poached philosophies about empowerment in the corporate age so profound? Make it stop, make it stop!

Both Stahl and Erika Christensen—the latter playing the resident technophile hottie—share the filmmaker’s fauxteur illusions that empty banter and pop-cultural allusions somehow translate to insta-cleverness. The supporting cast only adds to the suffering: Rock star Gavin Rossdale’s acting is as tone-deaf as his singing, while hypermugging police chief Terry Crews is apparently an honorary member of the Keystone Cops. Bereft of anything resembling subtlety or common sense, this cretinous caper flick does offer a lesson on how to rob folks of $10.50. The bank aspect is merely incidental.